Madhya Pradesh govt blames Centre for delayed canal projects

The Madhya Pradesh government has blamed the Centre for the delay in the Indira Sagar Dam (ISD) and Omkareshwar projects.
State’s counsel TR Andhyarujina took strong objection to the Centre’s

affidavit, which said the project was stalled because the state administration did not submit the Command Area Development (CAD) plan to the environment ministry.

“The affidavit filed by the ministry of environment and forests is misleading,” Andhyarujina told a bench headed by chief justice KG Balakrishnan on Wednesday. He said the state had filed the CAD plan to the ministry in September 1992 and August 1993.

The bench was hearing an appeal filed by the state government against a MP high court order, restraining it from further acquisition of land and carrying out excavation and canal work for the projects.
The high court order had come after Narmada Bachao Andolan activist Medha Patkar moved HC against the state government projects which, she said, did not compensate the project-hit adequately.

Patkar also appeared in the apex court on Wednesday.
Contesting Andhyarujina’s charge that Patkar was advocating rehabilitation package even for those farmers who were already compensated, Patkar said the farmers would lose their livelihood otherwise.

The bench concluded by observing that by what Patkar says, “no irrigation project should come up”. It advised Patkar to “have a positive attitude” as “thousands of hectares of agriculture land would be irrigated by such projects”.