PHOTO: PTI/VIJAY VERMA

FOR A CAUSE: NBA leader Medha Patkar during a protest outside the Water Resources Ministry in New Delhi on Thursday.

NEW DELHI: No fresh permission had been given for raising the height of the Narmada dam in Gujarat, or for installation of gates on the dam beyond the current height of 122 metres, Union Water Resources Secretary and chairperson of the Narmada Control Authority (NCA) Gauri Chatterjee told a delegation of the Narmada Bachao Andolan which met her on Thursday. This assurance comes even as the displaced families filed a `contempt of court' petition in the Supreme Court on Thursday for lack of rehabilitation of oustees.

After an 80-minute meeting, NBA leader Medha Patkar said Ms. Chatterjee gave a patient hearing to the project-affected families and indicated that she would request the rehabilitation and resettlement sub-group to visit the Narmada valley and look into the complaints on rehabilitation in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat. She also listened to the allegations of corruption in the cash compensation and private land deals in Madhya Pradesh. The Government has virtually washed its hands off from land-for-land rehabilitation.

Amidst heavy police deployment at the Shram Shakti office of the Water Resources Ministry, several representatives of the displaced families wore black bands and held black flags against the raising of the dam height to 122 metres when over two lakh displaced families remained to be rehabilitated.

The delegation demanded full implementation of the Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal Award, just and adequate rehabilitation of the affected people, allotment of denuded forest land to ousted tribal families, full compensation of losses incurred by all oustees, investigation into corruption and action against the guilty. They sought primacy of rights to gram sabhas and implementation of the Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act.

Ms. Chatterjee told the delegation that the height had been raised on the basis of the permission given in March. Ms. Patkar had resorted to a hunger strike after the NCA gave permission to raise the dam height from 110 metres to 122 metres, following which a three-member central Ministerial team was sent to look into the rehabilitation claims in Madhya Pradesh.

After this, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh set up a three-member Shunglu Oversight group to look into the rehabilitation process, which had recommended review of rehabilitation before December 31. Before that, the Gujarat Government raised the height to 122 metres.

However, following the assurances by officials of the Union Water Resources and the Social Justice and Employment Ministry, Ms. Patkar called off the three-day old sit-in at Jantar Mantar, after vowing to continue the struggle in the valley. On Wednesday she announced the launching of a united National People's Movement against displacement and privatisation of resources.

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