Press release - June 12, 2014
New Delhi, 12th June 2014: Greenpeace India today slammed Gujarat government's move to raise the height of the Sardar Sarovar Dam by 17 meters on Narmada River. Greenpeace believes that this disregards the issues that peoples' movements like the Narmada Bachao Andolan have been fighting for.
"This kind of witch-hunt is antithetical to the government's promise of inclusive development. With this, the BJP government in Gujarat has served a blow to the Narmada Bachao Andolan and all of us who stand in solidarity with the grave impact of the impacted communities and the environment. This seems to be the governments way of making it loud and clear that it's their way or the highway," says Abhishek Pratap, senior campaigner with Greenpeace India
In solidarity with Narmada Bachao Andolan, Greenpeace demands that the authorities should first look into the rehabilitation of the 2.5 lakh people, who would be displaced as they live in the submergence area.
The world's largest democracy is charecterised by not just the biggest number of voters but also a long tradition of social movements, civil society engagement and public debate. Our government should celebrate this not muzzle it.