Narmada Water Issue

Presented by: Prof. Hem Raj Subedee, Ph.D.

Program Co-ordinatorDepartment 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

Narmada river in Omkareshwar

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

Large dams on the Narmada River

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

Tribunal Award

• 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 Sardar

Sarovar and Narmada Sagar Projects• Forest clearance approval for Sardar Sarovar only in Sept.

1987

Implementation of the NWDT

• Narmada Control Authority(NCA) Dec. 1980 rep. from the four party states and govt. of India

• Sardar Sarovar Construction Advisory Committee (SSCAC) statuatory body to ensure efficient, economical and timely execution of Unit I and Unit III of Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP)

• Review Committee• Environmental Sub-group under NCA• Sardar Sarovar 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 Sardar Sarovar 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 Bachao Andolan(NBA)

• Agitated people • Height of Dam, Benefit Sharing, Mode of Settlement of the

Project • Sardar Sarovar 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

Sardar Sarovar 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.

Sardar Sarovar Dam, partially completed

Indira Sagar canal for Irrigation