Bhopal: Days after Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani asked the Madhya Pradesh government not to issue unnecessary threats on share of Narmada water, Minister for Narmada Valley Development Surendra Singh Baghel said his government was committed to the provisions of the tribunal.
He, however, said Gujarat hasn’t produced 1200megawatt (MW) electricity in the last two years in accordance with the award of the Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal, 1979.
He also asked the Gujarat government to reconsider its decision with a humanitarian approach for filling Sardar Sarovar Dam up to its full reservoir level as the process of rehabilitating about 6,000 people residing in the catchement area was still underway.
Days ago, Baghel had accused the Vijay Rupani-led government of not issuing enough funds to rehabilitate and resettle dam-affected people in Madhya Pradesh.
Soon after, Rupani hit back saying that rehabilitation and resettlement works of dam-affected villagers were complete and the Madhya Pradesh government was raking up the issue to score political points. He further asked the MP government not to issue ‘threats’ to his state over the issue unnecessarily.
Recently, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath had said his state was committed to share water with Gujarat following provisions of the Narmada award, but not more than the quantity mentioned.
Baghel said Gujarat was not generating electricity from the share of water of Madhya Pradesh from the 1200MW river bed power house from the Sardar Sarovar Dam. This has adversely impacted the interests of Madhya Pradesh, he said.
The minister further said an objection was raised by the Madhya Pradesh in a meeting of all states held in New Delhi on April 15. However, its stand was ignored during a meeting of Narmada Control Authority held on July 18 in Indore.
The Sardar Sarovar Dam was built on the Narmada river near Navagam in Gujarat. Four states —Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharastra and Rajasthan — receive water and electricity from it.
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