Study the passage the given below and answer the following questions that follow:
Sardar Sarovar project is a multipurpose mega-scale dam. It required relocation of around two and a half lakh people from the villages. Issues of relocation and proper rehabilitations of the project-affected people were first raised by the local activist group. It was around 1988-89 that the issues crystallized under the banner of the NBAa loose collector of local voluntary organization.
Question:
i. Why is the Sardar Sarovar Project mentioned as multipurpose mega-scale dam?
ii. Why was it opposed by the villagers?
iii. Name the organizations which led the movement against this project
iv. What was the main demand of the local activist group?
Solution
i. Sardar Sarovar Project was called a multipurpose mega-scale dam because it would benefit huge areas of Gujarat and the three adjoining states in terms of availability of drinking water and water for irrigation, generation of electricity and increase in agricultural production.
ii. This project was opposed by the villagers because in this process 245 villages were expected get submerged. Also, it would have forced 2.5 lakh villagers to relocate.
iii. Green organisations in the US led the movement against this project.
iv. The local activist group NBA earlier demanded that there should be a cost–benefit analysis of the major developmental projects completed in the country thus far. Later, it insisted that local communities must have a say in such decisions and they should also have effective control over natural resources such as water, land and forests.
