The Hindu : Work resumes at Sardar Sarovar dam

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 16, 2003

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Work resumes at Sardar Sarovar dam

By Our Special Correspondent

GANDHINAGAR MAY 15. Construction work at the Sardar Sarovar Dam on the Narmada in Gujarat resumed in full swing today with the Narmada Control Authority (NCA) giving clearance for raising the dam height by further five metres.

The Governor, Kailashpati Mishra, the Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, and the Narmada Affairs Minister, Bhupendrasinh Chudasma, flew in to Kevadiya Colony, headquarters of the dam construction division, this morning to launch the reconstruction which had remained suspended for about a year for want of clearance from the NCM. The Government wants to complete the construction in 65 days with an additional three-metre hump to take the effective height of the dam to 103 metres before the onset of monsoon.

Mr. Modi told presspersons that with better co-operation from the three other States concerned, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, the dam height could be raised in the next few months to 110 metres. The project would then be ready to generate hydel power and the water would start flowing into the main canal without using lift irrigation. He regretted that the outstanding shares from the three States concerned towards the construction had increased to Rs. 1,600 crores, imposing financial constraints on the State.

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