New Delhi: Environmentalist Medha Patkar sought President A P J Abdul Kalam’s intervention to halt construction of the controversial Narmada valley dam and ensure proper rehabilitation of displaced people.
The Supreme Court last month refused to halt the construction of the Sardar Sarovar dam, until a full survey was completed on rehabilitation for hundreds of thousands of displaced and more, who were to be homeless as a result of the construction.
Activists had petitioned the court to stop work on increasing the height of the dam until the loss suffered by the farmers, who lost their homes and fields due to the project were compensated.
The petitioners had argued that work should be stopped until a government-appointed committee submitted its report on the displaced people and rehabilitation.
However, the court said it would wait until it received the report before making a decision.
"We said to him that you (President) have not intervened in the matter but this is a Constitutional crisis and the Constitution has a responsibility under Schedule V to ensure that there is peace and good governance in the tribal areas and submergence without rehabilitation will only bring in violence. We have asked him to intervene, and to talk to the Prime Minister," Medha Patkar told reporters after meeting with the President in national capital on Wednesday.
The court had said that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should review the survey by July 3, and set the next hearing for July 7.
Patkar added that a review of the survey by the Prime Minister might not have much bearing on the issue, as the work on the dam would be over by then.
In a previous judgement the court had threatened to stop work on the dam unless it received satisfactory assurances from the government of Madhya Pradesh, where activists say tens of thousands of people are still awaiting resettlement.
However, since then, the government has promised to carry out a comprehensive study of all affected families.
Anti-dam activists expressed dismay at the decision, saying the work on raising the dam's height would already have been completed by the time the court heard the matter again.
In March, Indian authorities began work to raise the height of the Sardar Sarovar, the biggest dam in the multi-billion dollar Narmada Valley development project, by 12 metres to 122 metres.
But they ran into stiff opposition, led by environmental activist Patkar, who has spearheaded a campaign to protect thousands of poor farmers displaced or threatened by the dam.
She says if the dam's height is raised, more than 35,000 families, most of them impoverished tribal farmers, could have their homes and fields submerged when the monsoon rains arrive in June and are still waiting to be resettled.
Supporters of the dam have fought back with a media campaign, calling for the work to continue, as it will supply much needed water and power to various states.
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