Renowned activist and the head of Narmada Bachao Andolan, Medha Patekar, on Tuesday said that the financial embezzlement while distributing money to families displaced by the construction of Sardar Sarovar Dam would be ‘lot bigger than the Vyapam scam.’
She asked both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Madhya Pradhesh chief minister, Shivraj Singh Chauhan, to walk on the banks of Narmada to see the truth.
While speaking to reporters in Bhopal, she alleged there was a loot of sorts in the name of rehabilitating the affected families.
“The state had received a package worth Rs 2300 crore of which Rs 1000 crore have been siphoned off by touts and corrupt officers through fake registries. There are still 40-50 thousands people yet to be rehabilitated,” Patekar said.
Patekar also said that the MP government’s decision to raise the height of Sardar Sarovar Dam to 139 meters was taken with an intention to help Gujarat and the corporate houses close to PM Narendra Modi.
“The height is being raised to help Gujarat. Madhya Pradesh won’t get a single drop of water. MP government is colluding with the Gujarat government to help Adani, Ambani and car manufacturers there. Coca Cola is being given 30 lakh litre water while Tata’s Nano plan is receiving 60 lakh litre water everyday. And if that was not enough, the arable lands on both sides of canal are being handed out to these industrialists.”