SC declines to transfer plea against increasing Sardar Sarovar height

The Supreme Court Thursday declined the Narmada Control Authority's plea seeking the transfer to it the Narmada Bachao Andolan's plea challenging the decision to raise the height of Sardar Sarovar Dam that will be taken up for hearing by Jabalpur High Court Friday.

Declining the plea, a bench of Justice T.S.Thakur, Justice C. Nagappan and Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel said that since the plea sought to be transferred to apex court relates to the compliance of the high court's order, then the latter should deal with it and sought to know why it should it be brought here.

Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi told the court that an application filed by the Narmada Bachao Andolan before the high court has sought to put on hold the June 12 decision of the NCA permitting raising the height of the Sardar Sarovar Dam from existing 121.9 m to 138.7 m.

After the apex court had said in 2006 that it was not inclined to restrain the continuing work of raising the height of the dam, the NBA, instead of approaching the apex court, has moved an application before the Jabalpur High Court challenging the NCA June 12 decision to raise the height of the dam, he said.

At this the court inquired if the apex court in its 2006 judgment had the issue that the height of the dam could be increased to 138 m, but Rohatgi said that they (the NCA) were before the court in connection with work that had nothing to do with the decision to raise the height of the dam.

The court said that it would hear the matter on Aug 4 after Rohatgi told the court that this plea was listed on that day for hearing.