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Narmada Water Issue. Presented by: P rof. Hem Raj Subedee , Ph.D. Program Co- ordinator Department of conflict, peace and Development studies Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu Nepal. Introduction. Central India Fifth largest river in the Indian Sub-continent
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Narmada Water Issue Presented by: Prof. Hem Raj Subedee, Ph.D. Program Co-ordinator Department of conflict, peace and Development studies Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu Nepal
Introduction • Central India • Fifth largest river in the Indian Sub-continent • Completely flows within India • Traditional boundary between North and South India • Non snow fed perennial river • Longest west flowing river in India
Origin and Course • Origin Summit of Amarkantak Hill in M.P. 1057 m above sea level • Outfall into Gulf of Cambay,Bharuch district, Gujarat • Total 1312 km • First 321 km Mandla Hills form the head of Satpura Range • Another 745 km through plains • 87 km through the george between Vindhyas and Satupuras boundary between Maharastra and M.P and then between Maharastra and Gujarat • 159 km in the plains in Gujarat to its outfall into the sea
Narmada Basin • Between Vindhya and Satpura ranges • Extends 98,796 km2 • Madhya Pradesh(86%), Gujarat(14%) and Maharastra (2%) • 41 tributaries, 22 from Satpura, 19 from Vindhya • Five physiographic regions • Upper hilly areas Well Forested • Upper Plains Broad and fertile areas for cultivation Black soil • Middle Plains Broad and fertile areas for cultivation Black soil • Lower Hilly areas Well Forested • Lower Plains Broad and fertile areas for cultivation Black soil
Initiation for Water Exploitation • Severe drought conditions in the basin along with other parts of central and western India • Famine Commission in 1901 under British Raj • Central Waterways, Irrigation and Navigation Commission (CWINC) recommended 7 different sites for storage reservoirs • In 1948, Dr A.N.Khosla prioritized four sites • Bharuch district, Punasa in Khanwa district, Tawa in Hoshangabad district and Bargi in Jabalpur district. • Project report in 1963 • Central Water and Power Commission (CWPC) renamed from CWINC in 1955 also conducted study of hydroelectric potential 16 sites • 1300 MW of electricity
Initial Dispute • 1957 Rep. Bombay and Madhya Pradesh • Construction of Dam also at Navagam, Narmada district of Gujarat(present)- • Extend benefits up to the Rann of Kutch • Meanwhile, on May 1st 1960, Bombay split into Maharastra and Gujarat • Approval for the dam at Navagam by Gujarat, PM Jawaharlal Nehru inagurated
Dispute over the height of the Navagam dam • CWPC Full reservoir level (FRL) 91.4 m • Ministry of Power and Irrigation FRL 97.5 m • Gujarat govt. FRL of 140.2 m for full utilization of the untapped flow below Punasa • Chief Minister Madhya Pradesh FRL 49.4 m which is the bedlevel of the river at the Gujarat- Madhya Pradesh Border • Beginning of a Bitter Dispute
Initial Resolution • Narmada Water Resources Development Committee under A.N.Khosla in 1964 by the Union government • 13 major projects in the basin on the Narmada and its major tributaries • Priority to irrigation over power • Irrigation of 2630 km2 • Navagam dam recommended to be FRL of 152.4 m • Irrigation Canal RL of 91.5 m • Total installed capacity at the river bed 1400 MW • Rajasthan would share the irrigation benefits • Gujarat accepted, M.P. and Maharastra rejected them
Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal • Under the Inter State Water Disputes Act 1956 GOI set up in 1969 • Determined the utilizable Narmada waters to be 27,000,000 acre feet at 75% dependability • Allocation to the four states- water and power • Navagam Dam FRL of 140 m • Cost sharing among the states • Regulated release from the Narmada Sagar Dam • Gujarat to bear all the resettlement and relocation costs
Extensive studies on the project delayed the start • World Bank: funding and project costs 1985 • Resettlement and Rehabilitation package revised above the NWDT • Further Environmental Studies • Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoE&F) • Delay in forest clearance for the project • In June 1987, MoE&F gave conditional approval for SardarSarovar and Narmada Sagar Projects • Forest clearance approval for SardarSarovar only in Sept. 1987
Implementation of the NWDT • Narmada Control Authority(NCA) Dec. 1980 rep. from the four party states and govt. of India • SardarSarovar Construction Advisory Committee (SSCAC) statuatory body to ensure efficient, economical and timely execution of Unit I and Unit III of SardarSarovar Project (SSP) • Review Committee • Environmental Sub-group under NCA • SardarSarovar Narmada Nigam Limited (SSNL) in Gujarat • Narmada Valley Development Authority in Madhya Pradesh
Narmada River Development Multi State Hydropower and Irrigation • 30 Major dams including SardarSarovar 21irrigation, 5 hydropower and 4 multipurpose • 135 medium dams • 3 minor dams in M.P • Utilize 18,250,000 acre feet of water before 2025 • Domestic and Industrial water use • Water diversion to Son and Ton river, drought prone Saurasthra,Kutch, northern mainland Gujarat,southern Rajasthan. • Power Generation of 2600 MW • 40,000 sq. km of irrigated land • $100 million in 1961, rose to $3 billion in 2011
Narmada BachaoAndolan(NBA) • Agitated people • Height of Dam, Benefit Sharing, Mode of Settlement of the Project • SardarSarovar Dam • Public Interest Litigation in the Supreme Court of India • Questioned the claims of benefits from the major projects • Challenged the rehabilitation package for the affected people • Rejected Environmental impact assessment and the remedial actions • Urged the World Bank to withdraw from the project • Worse Mission – Independent Review Mission (Moorse?}
Supreme Court deliberated on the issue for several years • Upheld the Tribunal Award and allowed the construction to proceed subject to conditions • Grievance Redressal Authorities(GRA) in each party state to monitor the progress of the resettlement of the pari-passu with the raising of the height of the dam
SardarSarovar Project, Navagam • Terminal Project on the main stem of Narmada, Gujarat • Shared allocated water to Gujarat and Rajasthan • Concrete Gravity Dam 1210 m length, 163 m height and 7,700,000 acre feet storage capacity • Irrigation of 18,000 sq. km in Gujarat, 4,260 in sq. km in Rajasthan, hydro power of 1450 MW. • 48,269 families affected, 375.33 sq. km of area affected land. • Submergence area- fully tribal area, mixed population area on the Nimad plains.