Lessons from Sardar Sarovar

A defining stage in the history of the Narmada project was reached with the Supreme Court?s verdict on construction of the Sardar Sarovar dam with specific provisions. It is not pertinent that the decision was not unanimous within the three-member bench. The legality of the decision, which has to be accepted, is fully valid as long as this was a majority decision. No project in India has attracted as much controversy and attention as the Narmada project, both within the country and outside. The impact of the issues raised in the course of the debate that has raged on this project will not go away, as indeed would be the case with the lessons that must be derived from it. Firstly, the whole subject of rehabilitation and resettlement of people displaced by projects will never be treated casually by any authority in this country. Secondly, we have, I think, established that as a democracy we can accommodate and account for differences in perception in such matters through constitutional methods. Finally, in projects where the social costs and benefits are unevenly divided between different entities a far more rigorous approach will have to be followed in ensuring the involvement of all stakeholders including non-governmental organizations as members of civil society. We must now get on with the task of adhering to the decision of the Supreme Court, and civil society must take the lead in getting involved in the proper rehabilitation and resettlement of those who are to lose their homes and homesteads.