Narmada Bachao Andolan on Sunday criticised the latest national green tribunal order directing the generation of 40 MW electricity from Maheshwar dam on Narmada river in Madhya Pradesh by permitting the filling of the dam reservoir up to 154 metres and said that this order has been passed on the basis of a completely “erroneous and false” certificate provided by the state government.
Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, senior Narmada Bachao Andolan activist Alok Agrawal said that the tribunal order of August 9 is based on the state government’s false certificate which says there will be no submergence at dam level of 154 metres.
The certificate has been issued ignoring the fact that no electricity can be generated by Maheshwar dam at 154 metres as stated categorically by the Central Electricity Author-ity in its written opinion, Mr Agrawal pointed out adding the certificate has been issued ignoring the official revenue records of the state government which clearly show that large area of land and houses in the Maheshwar dam affected villages were submerged during the monsoon of 2011 at dam level of 154 metres. He said: “The false certificates given by Khargone district collector Navneet Mohan Kothari and executive engineer N.K. Trivedi on the request of the private S. Kumars group company, which is building the dam, were exposed on August 7 when more than 400 houses in the Maheshwar dam affected villages came under submergence jeopardising the lives of thousands of villagers.”
He said that the order of the national green tribunal permitting submergence of agricultural lands and houses without proper rehabilitation of the oustees is in violation of Articles 14, 21 and 300A of the Constitution, the statutory provisions of the environmental clearance accor-ded to the Maheshwar Project and the law settled by the SC that rehabilitation must be completed prior to submergence. The order of the green tribunal is also in violation of several orders of the MP HC, he pointed out.