India's Government has given the greenlight for a project to raise the height of Sardar Sarovar dam on the Narmada river in the western state of Gujarat by an additional 17m, local media has reported.
The Narmada Control Authority (NCA) yesterday approved plans for the dam wall to be increased from 121.9m to 138.7m, in a project expected to take up to 40 months to complete.
Increasing the height of the dam will increase water supply at the project. Environmental groups have however criticized the decision, stating concerns that the project will impact on local communities and the surrounding environment.
The 1450MW Sardar Sarovar project, which cost an estimated US$7.7B to build, was originally completed on 31 December 2007 nearly 20 years after construction began. The dam currently irrigates 200,000ha of land and provides drinking water and flood control to the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Image: Sardar Sarovar dam, India. Courtesy of the Narmada Control Authority (NCA)
