Date: Tue, 26 Jul 1994 00:30:45 -0700 From: Patrick McCully Subject: WB Pres Supports SSP, Review Submit /* Written 12:24 AM Jul 26, 1994 by patrickirn in igc:env.dams */ /* ---------- "WB Pres Supports SSP, Review Submit" ---------- */ ########################################### NARMADA UPDATE JULY 25, 1994 ########################################### INDIAN REVIEW REPORT FINALLY SUBMITTED BOMBAY DHARNA CALLED OFF AFTER DEMANDS MET WORLD BANK PRESIDENT SAYS SSP 'NOT TO BE ASHAMED OF'' 'CORRUPT' NARMADA NIGAM CHIEF IN US TO RAISE FUNDS? RESERVOIR RISES TO 85 METRES The report of the review committee established by the central government last August was finally submitted to the Ministry of Water Resources on July 21. The report was handed over in a sealed envelope which was not to be opened until resolution of the case challenging the legality of the review filed by dam supporters in the Gujarat High Court. Today, however, at the second Supreme Court hearing of the NBA's anti-dam petition, the court ordered that the case be moved from Gujarat to New Delhi where it will be judged by the Supreme Court on August 25. Meanwhile the Supreme Court is likely to study the review report along with the other documents relevant to the NBA's case. The Supreme Court today set their final hearing on the NBA's case for September 5-8. During today's hearing the judge remarked that the issues to be discussed included not just resettlement and rehabilitation but also the overall viability of the project. The nine respondents to the NBA petition (the governments of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan; the central government ministries of Water Resources, Welfare, and Environment and Forests; the Narmada Nigam; and the Narmada Control Authority) have filed a common reply to the Supreme Court. The NBA says that this indicates the behind- the-scenes arm-twisting by the pro-dam Ministry of Water Resources. The current Madhya Pradesh government has repeatedly stated its opposition to the dam as presently planned and has declared the project flawed on environmental, social, economic and hydrological grounds, yet its view is supposedly included in the strongly pro- status quo position of the common reply. The reply also shows, says the NBA, the failure of the NCA and the ministries of environment and welfare to perform their statutory duties as regulators with oversight and authority over the dam implementing authorities. Instead, says the NBA, 'all the agencies are acting in league with one another.' Dharna Called Off After Meeting With Chief Minister The NBA's indefinite dharna in Bombay was called off late on July 20 after a 4-hour meeting between an NBA delegation and senior Maharashtra officials, including the Chief Minister, Sharad Pawar. The NBA was represented by activists Medha Patkar, Arundhati Dhuru and Alok Agarwal, 15 project- affected villagers, and several prominent Bombay citizens. The Chief Minister agreed to form a fact-finding team to report within two weeks on the resettlement situation in Maharashtra. The two members of the team are a Member of Parliament from the dam-affected region and a member of a voluntary organisation. Pawar also agreed to the NBA's demand to reestablish communications with the submergence- affected villages and promised to provide the NBA with six boats and to make two government-run motor boats available to the villagers. The CM refused the NBA's demands that the Maharashtra government should unconditionally provide relief supplies to people affected by submergence this year. Instead, the officials said that they would provide grain to villagers who agreed to move to resettlement sites before the next monsoon. The villagers retorted that they would rather starve than accept this offer, and that the government must prove they can properly resettle the people who have already moved before more people are forced to leave their homes. Pawar also refused Medha's demands for a state-wide review of SSP and declined to support publicly the Madhya Pradesh government's position that the dam height should be reduced. The MP Chief Minister, Digvijay Singh, recently wrote to Sharad Pawar calling for him to support the height reduction. The two Chief Ministers met last week but Singh told journalists afterwards that Pawar did not take a stand on the height issue. World Bank President Backs SSP The following statement was made by World Bank President Lewis Preston at the Bretton Woods anniversary press conference in Washington, DC, on July 19. It has been extensively reported in India, especially in the Gujarat press which has carried editorials saying Preston's comments show that SSP still has the World Bank's seal of approval, and that the Gujarat Government should now go back to the World Bank for more money for SSP. The following is from the press conference transcript. Q: Looking back over the last 50 years, what would you say were the Bank's major mistakes and worst policy decisions? If you could change something what would you change? And would the Narmada Dam be one of them? (Laughter) MR PRESTON: Just by chance the Narmada Dam -- I think the mistake that the Bank has paid the highest price for was not recognizing the importance of the environment. I think initially they perceived there was a conflict between development and environment, and realised eventually that sustainable development was absolutely critical and complementary to what we were trying to do in terms of helping our borrowing clients in Africa and elsewhere. So that mistake, I think, has, in terms of the criticisms of the Bank, eroded some of the support that the Bank is entitled to. The lesson of Narmada is something that is interesting reading. It seems to me what happened there is that, in terms of the environmental issues, they were problems of the Government of India and the three states that were involved in Narmada. But the Bank stepped in between the borrowers and assumed the responsibility for the environmental compliance. The Narmada project is not one to be ashamed of, in terms of what it will eventually do for the people of India, as you know better than me. And I certainly regret the attention and misinformation that developed over the course of the project, but as a project it will help 2 million people and that is significant in anybody's language. Anyone who is enraged by this nonsense should write to Preston (The World Bank, 1818 H Street, N. W., Washington, D.C. 20433. Fax. +1 202 676 0483. Copies to the Executive Director of the Bank for your country at the same address) and tell him that his support for the project will only strengthen the Bank's opponents and their calls for its funding to be cut. Commenting on Preston's statement, Medha Patkar said today that: I feel really surprised that the World Bank is not ashamed of their record on SSP and that they don't accept that the analysis of costs and benefits of the project has changed and that the environmental and resettlement issues are so serious that they are sufficient to stop the project. It is very serious that the World Bank is still trying to justify the project and it is further proof of their arrogance and inability to change their ways. It also shows the importance of the 50 Years is Enough Campaign around the world, and of the need to cut funding to the Bank and force a revolution in the institution. And it shows that our international supporters must be vigilant and be ready to oppose any attempt by the Bank to step back into the Narmada Valley. We must remember that the Bank shares the responsibility for the hardship which the people of the valley are now forced to endure because of the flooding of their homes and lands and the repression which they have to endure at the hands of government officials. (Among the numerous examples of Presto-waffle in the 50th Anniversary press conference was the notable comment that 'Virtually everything in terms of the Bank's lending goes to help the poor'). Nigam Chairman Visits US: Fund-Raising Mission? The controversial chairman of the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd (the state-owned corporation implementing SSP), Sanat Mehta, is currently in the US. He will speak to the board of the India Development Service in Chicago on Saturday, July 30. He is also speaking to a group of Gujaratis at a temple in Chicago. I am trying to get more information on his itinerary. The reason for his visit is presumably to encourage Indians living in the US to invest in the issue of Narmada Bonds to be floated in September. Himanshu Thakker says that 200 crore (2000 million) rupees (US$67 million) out of the 500 crore (5000 million) rupee ($167 million) bond issue are to be reserved for Non-Resident Indians (although the Gujarat authorities are still waiting for permission from the Ministry of Finance to sell the bonds overseas). The bonds will reportedly yield a return of 16.25% and will be non-repatriable (meaning that proceeds from bonds bought by Non-Resident Indians cannot be converted back into foreign exchange and taken out of India). The bonds will mature after three years. These conditions are noticeably less lucrative than those of the 1993 domestic bond issues which yielded a return of 17.25% and lasted 7 and 20 years. Mehta is at the centre of a corruption scandal surrounding broker payments for the 1993 bond issue. The Chief Secretary of Gujarat is currently investigating charges that Mehta's own securities firm received a massive 80 million rupee ($2.7m) contract to administer the bond issue. Mehta is also accused of giving contracts related to SSP to his own business associates rather than putting them out to open tender. The Chief Secretary is due to report his findings to the state assembly in mid-August. The payments being scrutinised have been suspended until then. A case against Mehta is also pending in the Gujarat High Court. Heavy Floods in Kutch and Saurashtra The NBA says that recent heavy floods in Kutch and Saurashtra show how the terrible water shortages in these regions are due to mismanagement of land and water resources rather than an absolute lack of rainfall. The Gujarat authorities say that Kutch and Saurashtra will be the main beneficiaries of SSP water and use the relief of drought in these areas to justify the dam. According to the NBA, however, rainwater harvesting and watershed restoration measures could enable these regions to store the monsoon rains for the dry season and thus ease the regions' water shortages far more cheaply, quickly and effectively than SSP. With 80% of Gujarat irrigation funds going to SSP there is minimal state funding left for these less destructive, and more effective, alternatives. In the Valley . . . Last week the SSP reservoir reached 85m above sea level, its highest yet (the base of the temple in Manibeli is at 58m asl). In Maharashtra, 82 houses and the lands of 155 families in 15 villages have been submerged. All 14 submergence villages in Gujarat (where any families at risk of submergence were forcibly evicted and their houses demolished) have been affected. ######################## Compiled by Patrick McCully with information from Himanshu Thakker and Medha Patkar of the Narmada Bachao Andolan. ########################################### FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Patrick McCully Campaigns Director International Rivers Network Berkeley, California 94703, USA Tel. +1 510 848-1155 Fax. +1 510 848-1008 E-Mail patrickirn@igc.apc.org From wcsbeau@ccs.carleton.ca Wed Jul 27 13:10:28 1994 Received: from bud.sandelman.ocunix.on.ca by latour.sandelman.ocunix.on.ca with SMTP id AA27378 (5.65a/IDA-1.4.2); Wed, 27 Jul 94 12:42:18 -0400 Received: from alfred.ccs.carleton.ca (alfred.ccs.carleton.ca [134.117.1.1]) by gateway.sandelman.ocunix.on.ca (8.6.9/8.6.9) with SMTP id MAA02653 for ; Wed, 27 Jul 1994 12:32:33 -0400 Received: from superior.ccs.carleton.ca.YP.nobel by alfred.ccs.carleton.ca (4.1/SMI-4.0) id AA26400; Wed, 27 Jul 94 12:35:21 EDT Received: by superior.ccs.carleton.ca.YP.nobel (4.1/Sun-Client) id AA14216; Wed, 27 Jul 94 12:34:37 EDT Received: from nacho.cs.wisc.edu by alfred.ccs.carleton.ca (4.1/SMI-4.0) id AA15823; Tue, 26 Jul 94 03:55:33 EDT Received: from mail.igc.apc.org by nacho.cs.wisc.edu; Tue, 26 Jul 94 02:30:49 -0500 Received: from igc.apc.org by mail.igc.apc.org with SMTP (8.6.9/Revision: 1.35 ) id AAA08150; Tue, 26 Jul 1994 00:31:00 -0700 Received: by igc.apc.org (8.6.9/Revision: 1.168 ) id AAA27555; Tue, 26 Jul 1994 00:30:45 -0700 Date: Tue, 26 Jul 1994 00:30:45 -0700 From: Patrick McCully Message-Id: <199407260730.AAA27555@igc.apc.org> To: appa@vax.lse.ac.uk, budaraju@cae.wisc.edu, jagdish@igc.apc.org, narmada@cs.wisc.edu, pchatterjee@igc.apc.org, ss@ce.ic.ac.uk Subject: WB Pres Supports SSP, Review Submit Sender: wcsbeau@ccs.carleton.ca Status: RO /* Written 12:24 AM Jul 26, 1994 by patrickirn in igc:env.dams */ /* ---------- "WB Pres Supports SSP, Review Submit" ---------- */ ########################################### NARMADA UPDATE JULY 25, 1994 ########################################### INDIAN REVIEW REPORT FINALLY SUBMITTED BOMBAY DHARNA CALLED OFF AFTER DEMANDS MET WORLD BANK PRESIDENT SAYS SSP 'NOT TO BE ASHAMED OF'' 'CORRUPT' NARMADA NIGAM CHIEF IN US TO RAISE FUNDS? RESERVOIR RISES TO 85 METRES The report of the review committee established by the central government last August was finally submitted to the Ministry of Water Resources on July 21. The report was handed over in a sealed envelope which was not to be opened until resolution of the case challenging the legality of the review filed by dam supporters in the Gujarat High Court. Today, however, at the second Supreme Court hearing of the NBA's anti-dam petition, the court ordered that the case be moved from Gujarat to New Delhi where it will be judged by the Supreme Court on August 25. Meanwhile the Supreme Court is likely to study the review report along with the other documents relevant to the NBA's case. The Supreme Court today set their final hearing on the NBA's case for September 5-8. During today's hearing the judge remarked that the issues to be discussed included not just resettlement and rehabilitation but also the overall viability of the project. The nine respondents to the NBA petition (the governments of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan; the central government ministries of Water Resources, Welfare, and Environment and Forests; the Narmada Nigam; and the Narmada Control Authority) have filed a common reply to the Supreme Court. The NBA says that this indicates the behind- the-scenes arm-twisting by the pro-dam Ministry of Water Resources. The current Madhya Pradesh government has repeatedly stated its opposition to the dam as presently planned and has declared the project flawed on environmental, social, economic and hydrological grounds, yet its view is supposedly included in the strongly pro- status quo position of the common reply. The reply also shows, says the NBA, the failure of the NCA and the ministries of environment and welfare to perform their statutory duties as regulators with oversight and authority over the dam implementing authorities. Instead, says the NBA, 'all the agencies are acting in league with one another.' Dharna Called Off After Meeting With Chief Minister The NBA's indefinite dharna in Bombay was called off late on July 20 after a 4-hour meeting between an NBA delegation and senior Maharashtra officials, including the Chief Minister, Sharad Pawar. The NBA was represented by activists Medha Patkar, Arundhati Dhuru and Alok Agarwal, 15 project- affected villagers, and several prominent Bombay citizens. The Chief Minister agreed to form a fact-finding team to report within two weeks on the resettlement situation in Maharashtra. The two members of the team are a Member of Parliament from the dam-affected region and a member of a voluntary organisation. Pawar also agreed to the NBA's demand to reestablish communications with the submergence- affected villages and promised to provide the NBA with six boats and to make two government-run motor boats available to the villagers. The CM refused the NBA's demands that the Maharashtra government should unconditionally provide relief supplies to people affected by submergence this year. Instead, the officials said that they would provide grain to villagers who agreed to move to resettlement sites before the next monsoon. The villagers retorted that they would rather starve than accept this offer, and that the government must prove they can properly resettle the people who have already moved before more people are forced to leave their homes. Pawar also refused Medha's demands for a state-wide review of SSP and declined to support publicly the Madhya Pradesh government's position that the dam height should be reduced. The MP Chief Minister, Digvijay Singh, recently wrote to Sharad Pawar calling for him to support the height reduction. The two Chief Ministers met last week but Singh told journalists afterwards that Pawar did not take a stand on the height issue. World Bank President Backs SSP The following statement was made by World Bank President Lewis Preston at the Bretton Woods anniversary press conference in Washington, DC, on July 19. It has been extensively reported in India, especially in the Gujarat press which has carried editorials saying Preston's comments show that SSP still has the World Bank's seal of approval, and that the Gujarat Government should now go back to the World Bank for more money for SSP. The following is from the press conference transcript. Q: Looking back over the last 50 years, what would you say were the Bank's major mistakes and worst policy decisions? If you could change something what would you change? And would the Narmada Dam be one of them? (Laughter) MR PRESTON: Just by chance the Narmada Dam -- I think the mistake that the Bank has paid the highest price for was not recognizing the importance of the environment. I think initially they perceived there was a conflict between development and environment, and realised eventually that sustainable development was absolutely critical and complementary to what we were trying to do in terms of helping our borrowing clients in Africa and elsewhere. So that mistake, I think, has, in terms of the criticisms of the Bank, eroded some of the support that the Bank is entitled to. The lesson of Narmada is something that is interesting reading. It seems to me what happened there is that, in terms of the environmental issues, they were problems of the Government of India and the three states that were involved in Narmada. But the Bank stepped in between the borrowers and assumed the responsibility for the environmental compliance. The Narmada project is not one to be ashamed of, in terms of what it will eventually do for the people of India, as you know better than me. And I certainly regret the attention and misinformation that developed over the course of the project, but as a project it will help 2 million people and that is significant in anybody's language. Anyone who is enraged by this nonsense should write to Preston (The World Bank, 1818 H Street, N. W., Washington, D.C. 20433. Fax. +1 202 676 0483. Copies to the Executive Director of the Bank for your country at the same address) and tell him that his support for the project will only strengthen the Bank's opponents and their calls for its funding to be cut. Commenting on Preston's statement, Medha Patkar said today that: I feel really surprised that the World Bank is not ashamed of their record on SSP and that they don't accept that the analysis of costs and benefits of the project has changed and that the environmental and resettlement issues are so serious that they are sufficient to stop the project. It is very serious that the World Bank is still trying to justify the project and it is further proof of their arrogance and inability to change their ways. It also shows the importance of the 50 Years is Enough Campaign around the world, and of the need to cut funding to the Bank and force a revolution in the institution. And it shows that our international supporters must be vigilant and be ready to oppose any attempt by the Bank to step back into the Narmada Valley. We must remember that the Bank shares the responsibility for the hardship which the people of the valley are now forced to endure because of the flooding of their homes and lands and the repression which they have to endure at the hands of government officials. (Among the numerous examples of Presto-waffle in the 50th Anniversary press conference was the notable comment that 'Virtually everything in terms of the Bank's lending goes to help the poor'). Nigam Chairman Visits US: Fund-Raising Mission? The controversial chairman of the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd (the state-owned corporation implementing SSP), Sanat Mehta, is currently in the US. He will speak to the board of the India Development Service in Chicago on Saturday, July 30. He is also speaking to a group of Gujaratis at a temple in Chicago. I am trying to get more information on his itinerary. The reason for his visit is presumably to encourage Indians living in the US to invest in the issue of Narmada Bonds to be floated in September. Himanshu Thakker says that 200 crore (2000 million) rupees (US$67 million) out of the 500 crore (5000 million) rupee ($167 million) bond issue are to be reserved for Non-Resident Indians (although the Gujarat authorities are still waiting for permission from the Ministry of Finance to sell the bonds overseas). The bonds will reportedly yield a return of 16.25% and will be non-repatriable (meaning that proceeds from bonds bought by Non-Resident Indians cannot be converted back into foreign exchange and taken out of India). The bonds will mature after three years. These conditions are noticeably less lucrative than those of the 1993 domestic bond issues which yielded a return of 17.25% and lasted 7 and 20 years. Mehta is at the centre of a corruption scandal surrounding broker payments for the 1993 bond issue. The Chief Secretary of Gujarat is currently investigating charges that Mehta's own securities firm received a massive 80 million rupee ($2.7m) contract to administer the bond issue. Mehta is also accused of giving contracts related to SSP to his own business associates rather than putting them out to open tender. The Chief Secretary is due to report his findings to the state assembly in mid-August. The payments being scrutinised have been suspended until then. A case against Mehta is also pending in the Gujarat High Court. Heavy Floods in Kutch and Saurashtra The NBA says that recent heavy floods in Kutch and Saurashtra show how the terrible water shortages in these regions are due to mismanagement of land and water resources rather than an absolute lack of rainfall. The Gujarat authorities say that Kutch and Saurashtra will be the main beneficiaries of SSP water and use the relief of drought in these areas to justify the dam. According to the NBA, however, rainwater harvesting and watershed restoration measures could enable these regions to store the monsoon rains for the dry season and thus ease the regions' water shortages far more cheaply, quickly and effectively than SSP. With 80% of Gujarat irrigation funds going to SSP there is minimal state funding left for these less destructive, and more effective, alternatives. In the Valley . . . Last week the SSP reservoir reached 85m above sea level, its highest yet (the base of the temple in Manibeli is at 58m asl). In Maharashtra, 82 houses and the lands of 155 families in 15 villages have been submerged. All 14 submergence villages in Gujarat (where any families at risk of submergence were forcibly evicted and their houses demolished) have been affected. ######################## Compiled by Patrick McCully with information from Himanshu Thakker and Medha Patkar of the Narmada Bachao Andolan. ########################################### FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Patrick McCully Campaigns Director International Rivers Network Berkeley, California 94703, USA Tel. +1 510 848-1155 Fax. +1 510 848-1008 E-Mail patrickirn@igc.apc.org From wcsbeau@ccs.carleton.ca Wed Jul 27 13:10:07 1994 Received: from bud.sandelman.ocunix.on.ca by latour.sandelman.ocunix.on.ca with SMTP id AA27377 (5.65a/IDA-1.4.2); Wed, 27 Jul 94 12:42:14 -0400 Received: from alfred.ccs.carleton.ca (alfred.ccs.carleton.ca [134.117.1.1]) by gateway.sandelman.ocunix.on.ca (8.6.9/8.6.9) with SMTP id MAA02735 for ; Wed, 27 Jul 1994 12:35:14 -0400 Received: from superior.ccs.carleton.ca.YP.nobel by alfred.ccs.carleton.ca (4.1/SMI-4.0) id AA26475; Wed, 27 Jul 94 12:38:02 EDT From: wcsbeau@ccs.carleton.ca (Reid Cooper - OPIRG) Received: by superior.ccs.carleton.ca.YP.nobel (4.1/Sun-Client) id AA14442; Wed, 27 Jul 94 12:37:18 EDT Message-Id: <9407271637.AA14442@superior.ccs.carleton.ca.YP.nobel> Subject: Narmada26 To: dianne@sandelman.ocunix.on.ca (Dianne Murray) Date: Wed, 27 Jul 94 12:37:18 EDT X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.3 PL11] Status: O >From budaraju@cae.wisc.edu Tue Jul 26 14:25:20 1994 Return-Path: Received: from nacho.cs.wisc.edu by alfred.ccs.carleton.ca (4.1/SMI-4.0) id AA29579; Tue, 26 Jul 94 14:25:15 EDT From: budaraju@cae.wisc.edu Received: from serv0.cae.wisc.edu by nacho.cs.wisc.edu; Tue, 26 Jul 94 12:55:32 -0500 Received: from sun-19.cae.wisc.edu by serv0.cae.wisc.edu (4.1/31D) id AA29883; Tue, 26 Jul 94 12:55:30 CDT Received: by sun-19.cae.wisc.edu (4.1/client-1.3) id AA00671; Tue, 26 Jul 94 12:55:27 CDT Message-Id: <9407261755.AA00671@sun-19.cae.wisc.edu> Subject: Activists go to court report's release To: narmada@cs.wisc.edu Date: Tue, 26 Jul 94 12:55:25 CDT X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.3 PL0] Status: OR From: bajwa@asd.enet.dec.com (Baj, dtn:381-2851 25-Jul-1994 2228) Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian Date: 25 Jul 1994 21:40:52 -0500 07/25 1611 NARMADA-INDIA: ACTIVISTS GO TO COURT FOR REPORT'S RELEASE NEW DELHI, (July 22) IPS - Opponents of the controversial Narmada dam today appealed to the supreme court to remove a judicial ban on publicizing an independent review report of the mammoth project that is submerging hamlets in the river valley. The five-member review panel submitted its long-awaited report to the Central Water Resources Ministry yesterday, but the government cannot publish it because of a court order. The "Save the Narmada Movement", which is better known by its HIndi initials, NBA, filed a special leave petition in India's Apex court to cancel the order of the high court of the western state of Gujarat which is the main beneficiary of the dam. Also yesterday, scores of Narmada villagers led by anti-dam activists, called off an over fortnight-long sit-in in Bombay, against their forcible eviction from hamlets in the submergence zone in Maharashtra state and poor resettlement arrangements. The protesters did so after the chief minister of Maharashtra promised to return the boats of activists which were seized at the time of submergence and ordered a review of dam resettlement work in the state. About 42 houses in six villages in Maharashtra and two in Gujarat have been submerged by the rising waters of the river which has been blocked by the partly-built dam wall, say anti-dam activists. More than 750 families will be flooded out of their homes this monsoon. The river, swollen by heavy monsoon rains, is flowing at more than 90 meters above its normal level in areas upstream of the dam, says NBA spokesman Himanshu Thakker. "There has never been such flooding in the Narmada valley in the past 100 years even during the worst floods," Thakker, who is based in Gujarat, told IPS in New Delhi. "Villagers let their belongings just float away and remained in chest high waters till they were forcibly dragged away by the police," he says. According to the NBA, most Narmada villagers are refusing to move to resettlement sites because these cannot compensate them for the loss of their homes and forests to the dam. Unsatisfactory rehabilitation is one of the issues covered by the independent review which was set up a year ago by the Central Water Resources Ministry under pressure from NBA activists who had threatened suicide by drowning in the Narmada valley. But the Gujarat high court has ordered the central government to keep the review report's contents secret, till the court rules on a petition by pro-dam groups who have challenged the decision to order the independent inquiry. Early next week, the supreme court is expected to decide on another NBA petition which disputes claims of benefits from the huge scheme. The petition has hauled up the Central Environment and Welfare ministries for their failure to ensure proper environmental and human rehabilitation. For the past few years since construction began on the dam, the Narmada has been submerging fields and houses in the valley. The waters recede after the rains, but cause extensive damage. Submergence is more serious this year because of the closure of sluice gates in the dam, some of which have been shut permanently, says NBA spokesman Thakker. The NBA says the wall height has been raised above 67 meters in violation of an order by Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao. The Sardar Sarovar is being built by the Gujarat government which was asked earlier this year by the Indian premier not to build above this height till the end of the monsoon rains. The Sardar Sarovar is estimated to cost about three billion dollars and is the first of about 3,000 big, medium and small dams planned across the westward flowing Narmada which divides north from south India. The NBA says the project will prove to be more expensive than estimated, while its benefits have been inflated. Sited in Gujarat's Bharuch district, the Sardar Sarovar is designed to irrigate 1.9 million hectares of farmland in central and western India, pipe drinking water to tens of thousands of villages and towns in Gujarat and generate 1,450 mw of power. But the NBA, which is a broad coalition of non-governmental organizations (NGO's) and individuals opposed to the Narmada dams, says the benefits are outweighed by the social and environmental costs. Their campaign, which is supported by environmental groups abroad, successfully put pressure on the World Bank to call a review of a project it was financing, the first such review in the Bank's history. The independent review report was critical of the Indian authorities' resettlement and rehabilitation plans, and it forced the Indian government last year to cancel the World Bank loan before the Bank said it was withdrawing. More than 200,000 mostly tribal people will be displaced by the Sardar Sarovar which will submerge about 40,000 hectares of forests.