NEW DELHI, JULY 10:The Supreme Court today declined to stop the Gujarat government from completing work on raising the height of Sardar Sarovar dam spillway to a uniform 119 metres.
Support for the dam work also came from the Prime Minister and the Shunglu Committee’s findings that painted a satisfactory picture of relief and rehabilitation of project-affected families in Madhya Pradesh. “We find no reason to suspend the construction at this stage, particularly when it is pointed out that non-construction of the spillway might endanger the safety of the dam,” observed the bench of Chief Justice Y K Sabharwal, Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice S B Sinha. ..
The demand for raising the spillway height was stoutly opposed by Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) counsel Shanti Bhushan. Gujarat government counsel Ashok Desai also assured the court that the state would stop all work on raising the dam height beyond 119 metres—121.92 metres has been permitted by the court—due to the monsoon. Taking note of this, the bench also suggested that the recess could be used to go ahead with the rehabilitation process.