RESEARCH STARTER

Narmada Valley Development Project

The Narmada Valley Development Project is a significant initiative in India that involves the construction of dams on the Narmada River, which flows through the states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra. Originating from the Amarkantak hill and spanning 1,312 kilometers, the river is the fifth-largest in the Indian subcontinent and is crucial for both ecological and social reasons. Since the project began in the 1980s, it has faced considerable opposition from environmentalists and local communities, particularly due to concerns over ecological imbalances, human displacement, and the impact on local biodiversity. The project has led to the construction of numerous large and medium-sized dams, including the controversial Sardar Sarovar Project, which aims to provide irrigation, drinking water, and electricity but threatens to displace over 200,000 people and inundate vast areas of land.

Indigenous communities living along the river, such as the Bhil and Gond, have been particularly affected, leading to the formation of the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), or "Save the Narmada Movement," which advocates for the rights and rehabilitation of displaced peoples. The movement highlights the inadequacies of environmental impact assessments and the need for sustainable development practices. Despite ongoing protests and legal challenges, the project continues to progress, with completion anticipated by 2025, raising ongoing debates about development, environmental conservation, and social justice in the region.

Full Article

IDENTIFICATION: Fifth-largest river in the Indian subcontinent

The Narmada River is symbolic of a global struggle against the environmental impacts of large dam construction. Since the 1980s, the Narmada Valley Development Project has been the subject of protest and opposition by environmentalists and other activists because of the ecological imbalances and human displacement created by the dams that the project has built on the river.

Originating from the Narmada Kund lake on the Amarkantak hill in the eastern part of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, the Narmada River flows westward for 1,312 kilometers (815 miles) before discharging into the Gulf of Khambhat of the Arabian Sea. Sandwiched between the Vindhya and Satpura mountain ranges, the Narmada basin, which is 98,796 square kilometers (38,145 square miles) in area, is a geologically unique horst-graben formation.

A strong rainfall gradient leads to starkly different vegetation cover in the Narmada basin: from moist evergreen forests in the upper catchment and along the banks of water bodies to dry deciduous forests in the lower catchment. These highly biodiverse forests are home to seventy-six species of mammals, including the Bengal tiger, leopards, bears, wild boars, and wild dogs, as well as 276 species of birds. Because a number of protected areas have been established in this region—including the Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve and Satpura, Bandhavgarh, and Kanha national parks—significant parts of the forests are relatively undisturbed. The region along the Narmada River is also home to several Adivasi (Indigenous) communities, such as the Bhil, Bhilala, Gond, and Korku. They have subsistence economies and distinct cultural and religious practices. The region is also an archaeological treasure site, with fifteen-thousand-year-old prehistoric rock shelter paintings.

Since the 1980s, the Narmada Valley Development Project has built thirty large, 135 medium, and 3,000 minor multipurpose dams on the Narmada River and its tributaries. Because of the river’s environmental and social importance, it became the focus of a movement in the 1980s by various environmental action groups and by communities that were directly affected by the land submergence that accompanied the building of dams on the river. During the late 1980s, several of these groups merged under the leadership of the activist Medha Patkar to form the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA); the group’s name translates as “Save the Narmada Movement.” The NBA stands in direct opposition to the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP), the largest dam on the Narmada River. According to the Indian government, when completed, the SSP will irrigate 1.8 million hectares (4.5 million acres) of land, provide drinking water to 40 million people, supply more than 5 billion units of electricity, and create more than 600,000 jobs. Researchers have found that it will also submerge almost 37,000 hectares (91,430 acres) of land and displace more than 200,000 people. In addition, it is a threat to aquatic habitat and will lead to soil salinization and waterlogging.

During the 1990s, the mobilization to save the Narmada River spread to include other hydroelectric projects. Detailed studies of large dams found that the benefits to agriculture had been significantly overestimated by the government. Moreover, since these projects are mostly funded with public money, rising capital expenditures and operational losses raised serious concerns. Added to this, the absence of a proper rehabilitation policy for the 21-33 million people displaced by dam building made the construction of large dams unsustainable. Critics argued that the lack of comprehensive environmental impact assessments preceding the building of large dams and other development projects seriously undermined the possibility that preventive and mitigative measures could be taken.

On October 18, 2000, a public interest lawsuit filed by the NBA to stop the construction of the SSP was rejected by the Supreme Court of India. Since that time, the NBA has continued to fight for rehabilitation for those displaced by dams in the Narmada Valley region.

Conflict between various developmental projects and environmentalists continued into the 2010s and 2020s. Many residents of the region opposed the construction of new dams, which might displace up to 250,000 villagers from 255 villages. Despite these protests, construction on the project was expected to be completed by 2025.

Into the mid-2020s, the NBA was largely completed and operational. Irrigation and drinking water delivery expanded significantly, though construction of some branch and distribution canals was ongoing. By 2025, the SSP was delivering many of the promised benefits—irrigating millions of hectares and supplying water to millions of people in drought-prone areas—while also producing hydropower for Gujarat and neighboring states. However, environmental and social controversies continued, such as the displacement of tens of thousands of people, particularly in Indigenous communities, and the ecological damage to riverine and forest habitats.


Bibliography

Baviskar, Amita. In the Belly of the River: Tribal Conflicts over Development in the Narmada Valley. Oxford UP, 2004.

Mathew-Shah, Neha. "Disastrous Narmada Valley Projects: The Struggle to Resist Continues." Sierra Club, 9 Oct. 2015, www.sierraclub.org/compass/2015/10/disastrous-narmada-valley-projects-struggle-resist-continues. Accessed 19 Sept. 2025.

"Narmada Project Will Be Completed by 2025 at Rs 79,000 cr, Says Minister." Indian Express, 14 Mar. 2023, indianexpress.com/article/cities/ahmedabad/narmada-project-will-be-completed-by-2025-at-rs-79000-cr-says-minister-8495015/#. Accessed 19 Sept. 2025.

Singh, Rahul. “Lives of Thousands of Families Hang in the Balance as the Water Level of Sardar Sarovar Dam Is Altered.” Mongabay-India, 9 July 2024, india.mongabay.com/2024/07/lives-of-thousands-of-families-hang-in-the-balance-as-the-water-level-of-sardar-sarovar-dam-is-altered/. Accessed 19 Sept. 2025.

Wood, John. The Politics of Water Resource Development in India. Sage, 2007.

Full Article

IDENTIFICATION: Fifth-largest river in the Indian subcontinent

The Narmada River is symbolic of a global struggle against the environmental impacts of large dam construction. Since the 1980s, the Narmada Valley Development Project has been the subject of protest and opposition by environmentalists and other activists because of the ecological imbalances and human displacement created by the dams that the project has built on the river.

Originating from the Narmada Kund lake on the Amarkantak hill in the eastern part of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, the Narmada River flows westward for 1,312 kilometers (815 miles) before discharging into the Gulf of Khambhat of the Arabian Sea. Sandwiched between the Vindhya and Satpura mountain ranges, the Narmada basin, which is 98,796 square kilometers (38,145 square miles) in area, is a geologically unique horst-graben formation.

A strong rainfall gradient leads to starkly different vegetation cover in the Narmada basin: from moist evergreen forests in the upper catchment and along the banks of water bodies to dry deciduous forests in the lower catchment. These highly biodiverse forests are home to seventy-six species of mammals, including the Bengal tiger, leopards, bears, wild boars, and wild dogs, as well as 276 species of birds. Because a number of protected areas have been established in this region—including the Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve and Satpura, Bandhavgarh, and Kanha national parks—significant parts of the forests are relatively undisturbed. The region along the Narmada River is also home to several Adivasi (Indigenous) communities, such as the Bhil, Bhilala, Gond, and Korku. They have subsistence economies and distinct cultural and religious practices. The region is also an archaeological treasure site, with fifteen-thousand-year-old prehistoric rock shelter paintings.

Since the 1980s, the Narmada Valley Development Project has built thirty large, 135 medium, and 3,000 minor multipurpose dams on the Narmada River and its tributaries. Because of the river’s environmental and social importance, it became the focus of a movement in the 1980s by various environmental action groups and by communities that were directly affected by the land submergence that accompanied the building of dams on the river. During the late 1980s, several of these groups merged under the leadership of the activist Medha Patkar to form the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA); the group’s name translates as “Save the Narmada Movement.” The NBA stands in direct opposition to the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP), the largest dam on the Narmada River. According to the Indian government, when completed, the SSP will irrigate 1.8 million hectares (4.5 million acres) of land, provide drinking water to 40 million people, supply more than 5 billion units of electricity, and create more than 600,000 jobs. Researchers have found that it will also submerge almost 37,000 hectares (91,430 acres) of land and displace more than 200,000 people. In addition, it is a threat to aquatic habitat and will lead to soil salinization and waterlogging.

During the 1990s, the mobilization to save the Narmada River spread to include other hydroelectric projects. Detailed studies of large dams found that the benefits to agriculture had been significantly overestimated by the government. Moreover, since these projects are mostly funded with public money, rising capital expenditures and operational losses raised serious concerns. Added to this, the absence of a proper rehabilitation policy for the 21-33 million people displaced by dam building made the construction of large dams unsustainable. Critics argued that the lack of comprehensive environmental impact assessments preceding the building of large dams and other development projects seriously undermined the possibility that preventive and mitigative measures could be taken.

On October 18, 2000, a public interest lawsuit filed by the NBA to stop the construction of the SSP was rejected by the Supreme Court of India. Since that time, the NBA has continued to fight for rehabilitation for those displaced by dams in the Narmada Valley region.

Conflict between various developmental projects and environmentalists continued into the 2010s and 2020s. Many residents of the region opposed the construction of new dams, which might displace up to 250,000 villagers from 255 villages. Despite these protests, construction on the project was expected to be completed by 2025.

Into the mid-2020s, the NBA was largely completed and operational. Irrigation and drinking water delivery expanded significantly, though construction of some branch and distribution canals was ongoing. By 2025, the SSP was delivering many of the promised benefits—irrigating millions of hectares and supplying water to millions of people in drought-prone areas—while also producing hydropower for Gujarat and neighboring states. However, environmental and social controversies continued, such as the displacement of tens of thousands of people, particularly in Indigenous communities, and the ecological damage to riverine and forest habitats.


Bibliography

Baviskar, Amita. In the Belly of the River: Tribal Conflicts over Development in the Narmada Valley. Oxford UP, 2004.

Mathew-Shah, Neha. "Disastrous Narmada Valley Projects: The Struggle to Resist Continues." Sierra Club, 9 Oct. 2015, www.sierraclub.org/compass/2015/10/disastrous-narmada-valley-projects-struggle-resist-continues. Accessed 19 Sept. 2025.

"Narmada Project Will Be Completed by 2025 at Rs 79,000 cr, Says Minister." Indian Express, 14 Mar. 2023, indianexpress.com/article/cities/ahmedabad/narmada-project-will-be-completed-by-2025-at-rs-79000-cr-says-minister-8495015/#. Accessed 19 Sept. 2025.

Singh, Rahul. “Lives of Thousands of Families Hang in the Balance as the Water Level of Sardar Sarovar Dam Is Altered.” Mongabay-India, 9 July 2024, india.mongabay.com/2024/07/lives-of-thousands-of-families-hang-in-the-balance-as-the-water-level-of-sardar-sarovar-dam-is-altered/. Accessed 19 Sept. 2025.

Wood, John. The Politics of Water Resource Development in India. Sage, 2007.

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