Sardar Sarovar Dam issue and the people’s demands

The Sardar Sarovar Dam is one of the controversial projects since its announcement in the year 1961. The dam is said to be the lifeline of Gujarat. The dam aims at protecting the water that would otherwise go waste by building a dam across. Several factors led to the delay in the inauguration of the dam.Though the dam has been inaugurated, the speculations around the dam do not seem to have lessened even a bit.

Narmada river is the fifth largest river in the country that originates in the state of Madhya Pradesh and travels across Maharashtra and Gujarat and finally meets the Gulf of Khambat. The idea was to share the water for purposes like drinking, irrigation and the generation of hydel power. The problem of water sharing was solved in the year 1969.

Is Sardar Sarovar Dam the only controversial project in India?

The problem of water sharing is what led to a large amount of confusion in the building of the dam. This is a common problem that is omnipresent all throughout India. The problem of water sharing among the states, between two countries is not something new.

The main issue that came out is that a large number of farmers and other tribal would be replaced from their homelands, but the government claims to provide them rehabilitation as the dam carries so much of significance in water storage as well as in the production of hydroelectricity.

How will the project benefit the people of the states?

There has always been this question on the minds of people of how the benefits would be obtained as a return on Investment for the costs incurred.

The areas of these states where the dam is projected to be built will protect the people from the fury of the floods as they are flood-prone areas.

The states of the country would have an inclusive growth as the dam would pave the way for the excellent irrigation of the large hectares of agricultural lands.

A large number of employment opportunities would be generated for the youth of the state.

Whenever a project is announced there is some destruction of the environment, and that is something that cannot be avoided. The government can look into some of the alternative measures that would serve the purpose of the proposed project besides donning the role of conserving the ecology.