LAW AND DISORVER

The Supreme Court of India has recently issued show cause notices to Medha Patkar, leader of the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), and writer Arundati Roy for staging a demonstration outside the apex court gate on December 13, 2000, and shouting slogans against the court's decision on the Sardar Sarovar dam project. The notices were issued in response to a petition filed by a group of lawyers. The lawyers described the agitation by 300 activists of the NBA as "blitzkrieg" against the judiciary.

Damning disclosure

close on the heels of the Supreme Court verdict on Sardar Sarovar Project ( ssp ), a recent report by the World Commission on Dams ( wcd ) has clearly stated that dams have exacted a high price in terms of human and environmental damage. The commission is an independent body whose sponsors include the World Bank.

The verdict and after

Get on with it

DELAYED PROCESS

The Supreme Court on October 30, 2000 has declined to fix an early date for the hearing of an application by the Narmada Bachao Andolan. "It will not be possible to disturb the hearing schedule of the court right now," the apex court stated. Narmada Bachao Andolan application seeks clarification on the 18 October, 2000 order of the Supreme Court on whether the permission for construction of the Sardar Sarovar Dam up to 90 metres was inclusive or exclusive of mounds along the river bank .

Damn not the oustees

The Supreme Court judgement on Sardar Sarovar Project ( ssp ) has a lesson for environmentalists: if the judiciary is asked to decide between the environment and development, it will choose development. Therefore, the judges must be presented with a case that integrates the two issues. In the case of the dam on Narmada, this was not done.

You've got a verdict

Learning the mantra

Political harvest

Achampet mandal of Mahabubnagar district, Andhra Pradesh (AP), was in the clutch of drought six years ago. But it is doing well at present. "Satellite images show an improvement of about 300 per cent between February 1994 and March 1998 with regard to the groundwater table," says Ramesh Reddy, head of the department of civil engineering at Osmania University, Hyderabad.

Drought is in the mind

SEVERAL messages emerge from the analysis of crash programmes to harvest rainwater in Gujarat and ap. It is amply clear that the government of Gujarat has been much more successful in addressing the need of the hour than the AP government.

PEOPLE FIRST

In a significant order, the Supreme Court has directed the three states affected by the Sardar Sarovar Project to review the resettlement of those evicted because of the dam. The court has also directed them to provide details concerning the availability of land for rehabilitation. The order is important in the light of the fact that the Narmada Bachao Andolan had in all its arguments in court highlighted the fact that the pace of the project was not in proportion to the resettlement of those evicted from the vicinity.