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If the dam is built as planned, what impact will it have on the nation of India five years from now? What about 20 years from now?
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Medha Patkar
Founder of the Narmada Bachao Andolan, a movement that opposes the construction of mega-dams on the Narmada River.
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S.K. Mohapatra
Managing Director of the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd, the state corporation charged with building the Sardar Sarovar dam.
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The water supply from the dam 20 or five years from now, its magnitude, and distribution to various parts of Gujarat will depend on whether or not the government sticks to its original plan of 2 percent to Kutch and 20 percent to Saurashtra. The tail-end region will be the most affected if the present skewed distribution, which has included cities of Ahmedbad and Rajkot, is continued. Also, as Madhya Pradesh has shown in its affidavits to the Supreme Court, since the water in Narmada has reduced from an estimated 28 MAF [million acre feet] to 23 MAF, the benefiting areas will suffer.
The benefits of irrigation and power will be reduced by 15-25 percent if the upstream Narmada Sagar Dam is not completed, which, in turn, is dependent on its rehabilitation, environmental impacts, and [mitigating factors].
As per the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, the interest paid on the debt for the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) is 28 billion rupees ($611.5 million) and an additional 120 billion rupees ($2.6 billion) will have to be paid by the year 2013. The mounting debt of Gujarat will have a major [impact on] SSP and the overall effort of diverting 90 percent of the Gujarat irrigation budget will leave other small, short-term projects not only in the command area of Sardar Sarovar, but also in the 86 percent of Gujarat which lies outside of the Sadar Sarovar-benefited area.
The vast wealth of archeological treasure and cultural sites will also be lost forever, even without estimating and accounting for the loss. This includes hundreds of temples, many mosques, beyond the numerous sacred groves of adivasis [tribal people -- ed.].
The food production (independent assessment is that the contribution of dams to this is only 10 percent) will be severely affected. As it is seen in many dams, the benefits are highly overestimated and the costs neglected. The contribution of Sardar Sarovar towards food production will be highly insignificant in comparison to the submergence of prime agricultural lands due to the dam.
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The dam will benefit the national economy immensely. Four major states -- viz. Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan -- would benefit from the project. Nearly five million acres of land in Gujarat and Rajasthan including desert and semi-desert areas will start getting assured water for irrigation. Additional income due to agricultural production alone is estimated to be of the order of $2 billion. Electricity of the order of 1,450 MW will be shared by the three states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat. About 8,215 villages and 135 towns in Gujarat and 124 villages in Rajasthan will benefit from the project. Women in North Gujarat and Rajasthan walking long distances for getting drinking water will be spared from the drudgery. The quality of water would improve and so would the standard of health.
Some of the benefits have already started flowing and would substantially increase in the next five years. A large number of industries would also be able to get a water supply, and areas hitherto backward will witness industrial development. In 20 years' time, the command area development would be completely in place and agricultural surplus would lead to increased purchasing power and a boisterous economy.
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The views expressed in this debate are solely those of the participants.
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