In a first (sort of) and quite unlike him, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday refrained from criticising the Congress for the alleged delay in the Sardar Sarovar Dam project. He dedicated the multi-crore, multi-state project to the nation, on his 67th birthday, at the Kevadia Colony dam site.
Before heading for Kevadia Colony dam site, near Vadodara and later on Dabhoi for the massive public meeting, Modi took blessings of his mother Hiraba, who stays with Modi's younger brother, near Gandhinagar.
The inter-state irrigation and drinking water project has taken 56 years for completion. Envisaged by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the foundation stone for the project was laid by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1961.
The project has seen many hurdles on the grounds or environmental clearance and at one point in time, the World Bank also backed out from funding the project. A bete noire of both the Congress and the BJP, Medha Patkar, spearheading the anti-dam agitation through Narmada Bachao Andolan, has still maintained that the rehabilitation of the people affected by the project is not complete.
Many within the BJP's rank and file in Gujarat had expected the prime minister to do Congress bashing. However, it appears that the prime minister took the stand of not making a political statement as the ruling BJP's efforts of taking out Narmada yatras in the state and dubbing the project as completed has received flak from experts and the Congress. In fact, it is alleged that very little work has been done during the last 22 years during the BJP's rule.
The dam may well have attained a full height, but the canal network in Gujarat remains incomplete and there has not been an increase in land irrigated through the Narmada Project in the last three years. As the canal network is incomplete, farmers draw water from a distance with the aid of motor pumps and the government has laid pipelines at some places to fill the rivers and ponds.
So Modi limited himself in saying, “We had decided not to play politics over Narmada. I know who have created hurdles and I have a long list. But I am not going to say anything.” Modi also did not make a single reference to Patkar and the NBA.
The prime minister said that no other project in the world would have faced problems like mother Narmada river did. “World Bank decided not to give money. But we had decided to take the project forward, regardless of the World Bank's support,” he said.
Modi said that the very World Bank gave an award to Gujarat Government for its rehabilitation post-earthquake in Kutch in 2001.
Describing the dam as an engineering miracle, Modi said that it would have been completed much earlier if Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar lived a little longer. While Patel's contribution is known, Modi reminded about Ambedkar's contribution in the field of water and irrigation.
Apart from irrigation and drinking water, the beneficiary states will also get electricity. While Maharashtra will get 29 per cent share of power generated, Madhya Pradesh will get 57 per cent and Gujarat around 14 per cent. Rajasthan also benefits from the project.
The Sardar Sarovar Dam site, he said, would become a tourist destination and would be an attraction for adventure and motor sports. Patel's statue, considered to be world's tallest, is also coming up near Kevadia Colony.
“We show Taj Mahal of Agra to people, but every place in India has a lot to show,” Modi said, adding that the we had forgotten the contribution of the tribals in the freedom movement.
Thanking people for the birthday wishes, Modi said that he would live for their dreams. The prime minister said that Patel's soul would be showering blessings because to the project.
Modi connected with the people of Dabhoi saying that in the past he has visited the place on many occasions by bus or on scooter, but had not seen such a massive gathering. “This is due to mother Narmada,” he said.
