Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Shri Babulal Gaur called on Union Urban Development Minister Shri Kamalnath here today and handed over to him an action plan chalked out for Narmada River’s conservation by the State Urban Administration & Development Department. He demanded funds to the tune of Rs. 1298.87 crore for solid waste management, sewerage, construction of rain-fed drains and nullahs, cleanliness and plantation.

The Supreme Court has refused to re-examine its judgement and expunge the adverse remarks made in it against Medha Patkar-led Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) on the issue of land acquisition for Omkareshwar Dam project in Madhya Pradesh. The apex court dismissed the review petitions filed by the NBA saying that the May 11, 2011 judgement “does not suffer from any mistake” and “no ground is made out” for review of the September 29, 2011 order by which it had declined to expunge the adverse remarks against the NBA in the verdict.

A three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court on May 3 dismissed petitions filed by Medha Patkar-led Narmada Bachao Andolan to review an apex court judgment and expunge adverse remarks made against the organisation in connection with the issue of land acquisition for Omkareshwar dam project in Madhya Pradesh.

A Bench of Justices R M Lodha, Deepak Verma and B S Chauhan observed in its order that they had decided to dismiss the review petition filed by the NBA against its May 11, 2011 judgment after careful consideration of the available material.

Actual irrigation has been done in 87,000 hectare area from Narmada Valley projects till December 2011 during the current fiscal. During the period, 601.59 crore units of power have also been generated by Narmada Valley hydel power plants. This information was given at a meeting of departmental advisory committee chaired by Minister of State for Narmada Valley Development, Kanhaiyalal Agrawal. Member MLA Balkrishna Patidar, special invitee Kamal Patel, vice-chairman of Narmada Valley Development Authority OP Rawat and other officers were present at the meeting.

BHILALA TRIBALS often assemble next to what used to be their village, Atursumba of Khargaon district in southeast Madhya Pradesh. Dwarfing them is a 100-feet-wide canal laid high above the ground. Water has seeped from the earthen embankments and submerged the village. “Now, we don’t sing harvest songs; the fun is missing from marriage parties. We are overwhelmed by the destruction of our fertile land,” rues Kailash Pawar, 40, of the tribal village.

RECENTLY, THERE has been an attempt to besmirch the reputation of the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) in the public eye. Greater concern attaches to the fact that on 11 May, the Supreme Court (SC) criticised the ‘conduct’ of the NBA, which stood “discredited in the eyes of the court” and was “guilty of suppression or failure to disclose facts”.

NHDC, after having achieved considerable success in the field of hydro-power now has started diverting attention towards other sources of energy like thermal, solar and wind energy in Madhya Pradesh.

Presenting the database of achievements of the company on the occasion of 12th Raising Day, ABL Shrivastava, CMD NHPC/NHDC on Monday informed that the company has approved a dividend of`39.25 crore for the financial year 2010-11. The Corporation has also registered a net profit of `4.13 crore during financial year 2010-11.

The demand for power has come down in the state with the arrival of rainy season. At present, the power demand stands at five thousand megawatts. One unit each of Amarkantak and Satpura have been closed down for annual maintenance in view of reduction in power demand.

Narmada Bachao Andolan on Sunday defended its position by asserting that the Madhya Pradesh government had misled the Supreme Court as a consequence of which, while passing the order on May 11 to uphold the land rights of the Omkareshwar dam oustees, the top court

The Supreme Court has taken strong exception to the inordinate delay by the ministry of environment and forests in taking a decision on the command area plans (CAD) of the Indira Sagar and Omkareshwar Canal projects.

The court has sought a categorical explanation as to why the ministry has not taken a clear position on this matter despite receiving four reports by Dr Devender Pandey Committee o