Work on dam should go on, observes SC

The Supreme Court on Monday said the construction work on the Sardar Sarovar Project on Narmada river should go on side by side with effective rehabilitation of the affected people.

The court made the observations after the Centre conveyed its commitment to the construction of the dam and its proposal of constituting a committee to evolve a suitable mechanism to rehabilitate the people displaced by the project.

SC ruling on Narmada dam postponed

The court said it was essential to strike a balance when such a vast project was being carried out and a large number of people were affected.

"What is necessary is that the issue should not be discussed in an emotive and charged atmosphere but in a congenial atmosphere... Such a dispute is a threat to public security," observed the bench, headed by Chief Justice Y K Sabharwal.

It was hearing a petition filed by Narmada Bachao Andolan seeking a halt to the construction of the dam involving raising of its height from 110 metres to 122 metres.