Narmada Bachao Andolan

The building of dams plays a significant role in the Indian landscape as it helps control floods during monsoon Seasons along with helping in hydroelectric power generation in the states. Through the building of dams, the Indian irrigation system remains stable and able to sustain and meet the growing demand of the population. However, it is important to note that there remains a lot of damage caused due to the constant building of dams, as it leads to the demolition of the nature of the biodiversity around the area. In the case of the Narmada river, the rapid construction of dams leads to the river turning into a lake along with increasing the risk of soil erosion.

What is Narmada Bachao Andolan?

Considered to be one of the most powerful mass movements started way back in 1985 it was against the construction of a dam on the river Narmada. The dam named Sardar Sarovar Dam and Narmada Sagar would have displaced close to 250000 people once it was erected. The river Narmada, which is the largest flowing river in the west, would have been reduced to nothing but a small lake and destroy the biodiversity of the entire Narmada Valley, once the dam would have been erected.  The government aimed to build close to 3000 big and small dams along the river to help in the irrigation process and also bring revenue for the government.

It was at this juncture that Medha Patkar along with other environmentalists and non-government organizations started protesting against this dam project as it would destroy thousands of acres of forest and agricultural land in the area. Supported by Baba Amte, another respected social and model reader in the Indian landscape, the movement gained a lot of popularity and support from all major sectors in the Indian industry. The Andolan had specifically targeted the Sardar Sarovar project Dam, considered to be the second largest of the massive dams the government intended to build, as it would completely alter the biodiversity of the area. Despite the protests, the government promised that it would help in providing irrigation and drinking water to the farmers in the area and also help in bringing hydroelectric power. However,  what the government failed to understand was it would lead to a large amount of displacement of the people in the area and also cause a major loss to their current livelihoods. Hence, the Narmada Bachao Andolan was a voice against the effective-decision taken by the government by environmentalists in India and even abroad.

Impact of the Andolan

The Narmada Bachao Andolan plays an important role in the political history of India as it highlighted one of the biggest mass movements against the government to save nature. Mainly led by the native tribes, along with farmers, Human Rights activists, and environmentalists the movement gained a lot of popularity and support from all corners of the country. The multi-crore project gained financial assistance from even the World Bank which was largely frowned upon and protested against forcing them to withdraw their support in 1992. The people took this matter to the court where the Supreme Court ordered the height of the Dam to be brought down to 90 as a post to 130m. The withdrawal of the support of the World bank has left the state government and market borrowings to finance the current project.

Immediate effect

The immediate effect that was witnessed post the start of the Narmada Bachao Andolan was the case being dragged to the Supreme Court by the people of India. The intervention from the Supreme Court outlined that there was several corruption present in the entire development of the project plan. The Supreme Court ordered the World Bank to review the loan provided for the Sardar Sarovar project. The exposition of fraud and corruption concerning the rehabilitation of the people highlighted the ill effect that the dam may bring to the people in Narmada Valley. Moreover, it Was also highlighted that it could lead to significant submergence of the area around the dam and lead to a suspension in agricultural and horticultural activities along with disrupting the community life in the area.

Conclusion

It can be concluded that the Narmada Bachao Andolan was a huge mass movement after the Chipko movement that gained so much popularity in the country. The movement outlined the importance of preserving biodiversity and how the building of new dams may impact the livelihood of the community. The coming together of tribal’s and environmentalists, along with the support shown by the industries in the country helped the movement to gain popularity across the world. The role of the Supreme Court is also important as they help in bringing justice to the movement and forcing the World Bank to rethink this position. Currently, the project has been redeveloped and will be completed in 2025.