BBC News Online: World: South Asia

Go-ahead for India dam project

The court decided by a majority of 2-1 that the Sardar Sarovar dam on the Narmada river could be built to a height of 90m - it is currently 88m high.

The dam has been at the centre of a heated debate for years involving, among others, the prize-winning author Arundhati Roy.

The government says the dam will boost development across a large part of western and central India.

Protesters argue that the supposed benefits do not justify the displacement of thousands of families in the area.

Divided

One Supreme Court judge wanted all construction activities at the dam site to stop so that a detailed environmental survey could be carried out.

However, they said that raising the dam beyond 90m to its envisaged maximum height of 130m would require clearance from an environmental authority appointed to undertake the task.

A lawyer for the Save the Narmada Movement (Narmada Bachao Andolan), Prashant Bhushan, said he was "amazed" by the judgement.

The Sardar Sarovar dam is one of a whole series planned for the Narmada River, which have become the focus in recent of many of the concerns about big dam proejcts.

Dam project

Apart from the Sardar Sarovar project on the eastern edge of Gujarat, another huge dam called the Narmada Sagar is to be built in the state of Madhya Pradesh.

At least 30 large dams, 135 medium ones and nearly 3,000 small dams, used to channel water into thousands of miles of irrigation canals, are to be built.

Protesters have been demanding that the authorities stop further construction work at the dams because of what they say is the failure to address the rehabilitation needs of local people, whose villages will be flooded.

However, those who support the dam system say that it will provide large amounts of water and electricity that are needed for development and that it would particularly benefit drought-prone areas of Gujurat state.