By IANS
Bhopal : The Madhya Pradesh government has provided rehabilitation benefits to all the 32,160 families in the state affected by the Sardar Sarovar dam project, an official said Friday.
Narmada Valley Development Authority (NVDA) vice-chairman Pradeep Bhargava said that of the 37,975 families affected by the project to increase the dam’s height, 32,160 had opted to stay in Madhya Pradesh while the other 5,815 wanted to be rehabilitated in Gujarat.
Bhragava said he had Thursday reviewed the rehabilitation status of three major projects of the valley – Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP), Indira Sagar Project (ISP) and Omkareshwar Project (OSP) – and found that the 32,160 families affected by the Sardar Sarovar Project had been rehabilitated.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court had Thursday asked the government to complete the relief and rehabilitation work in 25 villages before raising the dam’s height.
The bench comprising Chief Justice Anang Kumar Patnaik and Justice Ajit Singh said the government would not be permitted to raise the water level above 189 metres until all affected families had been rehabilitated.
The court gave the directives while hearing a plea by the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) challenging a government notice for evicting residents of 30 villages after the dam attained full-tank level.