Within two weeks of the new federal government taking over in India, the Narmada Control Authority (NCA) green-signaled the Gujarat state government’s eight-year-old plea to increase the Sardar Sarovar dam’s height by installing 55 foot tall sluice gates. Sardar Sarovar is the centerpiece of the multi-billion-dollar Narmada Valley development project that taps the Narmada, India’s fifth-largest river, through a series of dams, reservoirs, and canals. Sardar Sarovar has a main powerhouse with six 200-MW reversible Francis units. Another powerhouse, with five 50-MW Kaplan turbines, is supplied with water from the giant canal system.
When Gujarat’s Chief Minister Narendra Modi was elected India’s Prime Minister last month, Anandiben Patel took over his old job. On her first visit to Delhi, Patel requested immediate approval for the project and received it. Activists have consistently opposed the Narmada project and its expansion at every stage.
What this means
In about 36 months, power production of the 1.4 gigawatt project could rise as much as 35 percent and the the storage area of the reservoir will be raised from the existing 1.27 million acre feet to 4.75 million acre feet; this will enable more extensive irrigation across Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.
