Dams, multipurpose river valley projects, and projects interlinking rivers are seen as sacrosanct by the political leadership, no matter how immense the environmental and social cost (“ >Chronicle of a tragedy foretold ”, July 19). Anyone who says there must be a rethink on such projects is labelled as ‘anti-national’. The catastrophe these projects will bring are anticipated in advance, but the ‘national interest’ is invoked invariably in every project. If lessons from the Sardar Sarovar Project had been incorporated in the development dictionary, governments would have concentrated their energies on bridging the gap between the irrigation potential created and utilised and not focussed on the size of the project alone.
Kush Mehndiratta,
New Delhi
