A day after the government gave a go-ahead to raising the height of the Narmada dam by 17 metres, the CPM Friday termed it “illegal and unethical”. “The decision of the Modi government to go ahead with raising the height of the Narmada dam to 38.5 metres goes against the spirit of the SC judgment of 2000 which had made any such step conditional on putting into place relief and rehabilitation measures for those who will be affected,” the party said in a statement. “Without giving a hearing to the estimated 2.5 lakh people including substantial numbers of tribals in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra who will be affected, the Modi government has gone ahead with giving permission. This is both illegal and unethical.Water Resources Minister Uma Bharati claimed all the reports of the Social Justice Ministry and other related groups have shown the rehabilitation has been completed. This is far from the ground reality,” it claims.
