BJP taking political advantage of Sardar Sarovar Project: Suresh Mehta

The book written by Professor Hemant Kumar Shah has been published by Gujarat Khet Vikas Parishad.

“At a time when Narmada water is still to reach people, the project is being misused to gain brownie points during elections,” he added.

Mehta said the state government has been silent on the issue of project affected families.

“When the dam reaches its full reservoir level, it was estimated that there would be 41000 PAFs. Nobody is taking about it. So far 11,000 families have been settled in 200 odd settlements,” he claimed.

Mehta was the chief minister of the state from 1995-1996 and headed a BJP government in the state. He quit the party in 2007 and joined the Gujarat Parivartan Party (GPP) founded by former chief minister Keshubhai Patel in 2012.

Criticising the Prime Minister, Mehta said he has official documents in his possession to show how the state government had “illegally” collected money in 2005 for organising a “Sharadostsav” in Kutch district.

“The money was spent on organising free bus rides and food for people attending the event,” Mehta said adding that the bank account opened to collect money continues to exist in the name of the district collector.