They’ve seen the future, and it’s green

‘‘This is a once-in-a-millennium opportunity,’’ says economist Y K Alagh. ‘‘Gujarat must recharge its groundwater tables and fill up every river, pond and lake. There is a tremendous possibility of augmenting the state’s resource base.’’

Explaining the happy accident, Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited (SSNNL) officials say that by 2004 monsoons, the Indira Sagar dam under construction in Madhya Pradesh will be complete, and will restrict the free flow of all the water in the catchment area to the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP). On paper, Gujarat will receive about 11 million acre feet of water, around half of what it may expect in the upcoming monsoon season.

This is just one of the many assessments being thrown around as SSP construction reaches a crucial stage. Though the project is behind schedule by a year, SSNNL officials hope to complete work by June 2006, provided they receive the Narmada Control Authority’s permission to graduate to the projected final height of 138.68 m. At present, the dam stands 97 m tall.

‘‘In Gujarat, we have already completed the relief and rehabilitation work. If MP and Maharashtra wrap up their R&R packages, we can even complete the construction by the original target of June 2005,’’ says SSNNL managing director S K Mohapatra. ‘‘So far, we have been seeking five-metre height increases at a time. But once we reach 100 m, we want clearance for 110 m.’’

According to Alagh, the next five years are crucial for the project. ‘‘The Narmada main canal will be like a river in spate right up to the Gujarat-Rajasthan border. It will change the landscape of much of the state, including Kutch, because every river, pond, lake, reservoir, well and canal on the way will be filled with Narmada water. It will be used for irrigation as well as drinking,’’ he says.

The other long-term benefit of the project lies in power generation. ‘‘Once the dam height touches 110 m, generation will start,’’ says P K Lahiri, chief secretary and SSNNL chairman. Two powerhouses are planned near the dam, a 1200 MW one on the riverbed and a 250 MW one at the canal head. The second is nearing completion and engineers hope to test it when the dam touches 100 m.

So far as water supply and irrigation is concerned, though, SSNNL director (civil) N B Desai sets the date for completion of the 458-km Narmada main canal — currently 263 km long — around June 2006. Moreover, 42 branch canals that will take Narmada waters to Central, North and South-West Gujarat and parts of Saurashtra and Kutch are yet to be constructed.

‘‘At present, we’re supplying drinking water to 1,200 villages, we’re working on covering 1,400 more,’’ says K Kailashnathan, secretary, water supply. ‘‘On completion, we can supply water for drinking and irrigation to 8,200 villages.’’

According to SSNNL officials, 74 small and big rivers that cut across the Narmada main canal, the Saurashtra branch canal and Kutch branch canal will be fed with Narmada water once the main canal is ready. The Narmada main canal will feed 27 rivers, the Saurashtra branch canal another 27, and the Kutch branch canal six, while the other branch canals take care of 14 more rivers.