Madhya Pradesh govt releases Rs 500 crore to revive 3 stalled upper Narmada projects

The Madhya Pradesh government has released Rs 500 crore to speed up land acquisition and rehabilitation for three key multipurpose projects in the upper reaches of the Narmada river. The Upper Narmada, Raghavpur and Basania projects had been stalled for more than three years because of compensation-related issues in tribal areas.

The release is part of the Rs 1,280 crore special relief package approved by the state cabinet in December 2025. It is in addition to the Rs 1,656.02 crore already provided in the original Detailed Project Reports, taking the total cost of the special package to Rs 2,936.02 crore.

Additional Chief Secretary, Narmada Valley Development Department, Dr Rajesh Rajora, told PTI, "The state government has released Rs 500 crore out of the special package announced in December 2025. This will expedite the land acquisition process for the Upper Narmada, Raghavpur and Basania dam projects." Officials from the department said land acquisition began in 2023 but was halted after strong opposition from tribal families.

An official said, "About 85 per cent of the affected land is in Fifth Schedule (tribal-dominated) areas. Since the collector guideline rates were very low, this gap led to strong resistance and stalled surveys." To address this, the government approved a special consent-based compensation package similar to the one used for the Ken-Betwa project. Under it, compensation for land will be paid at either the collector rate plus an additional 100 per cent compensation or Rs 12.5 lakh per hectare, whichever is higher.

The package also provides additional compensation for huts, trees, orchards, wells and tubewells, along with a one-time rehabilitation grant for each affected family. The grant includes either a plot in an urban area and Rs 6.5 lakh, a plot in a rural area and Rs 7 lakh, or Rs 12.5 lakh in cash. SC/ST families from tribal areas will also receive an additional Rs 50,000. Officials said the special package is a significant improvement on the provisions made in the original Detailed Project Reports.

Explaining the compensation, a senior official said, "Let's presume that a farmer loses agricultural land, a tubewell, and a house. Under the compensation package, the farmer will receive compensation for the agricultural land at either the collector rate plus an additional 100 per cent compensation or Rs 12.5 lakh per hectare, whichever is higher. The farmer will also receive additional compensation for the tubewell. For the house, the farmer will either receive a plot and Rs 6.5 lakh in an urban area or a plot and Rs 7 lakh in a rural area. If the farmer does not want a plot, a one-time cash compensation of Rs 12.5 lakh will be provided instead."

Highlighting the projects' benefits, Rajora said the three dams would create a total storage capacity of 2,637 million cubic metres, or about 2.14 million acre-feet. He said, "Water stored (in the dams) during the monsoon season can be released in a controlled manner during the dry (non-monsoon) season. The storage will help irrigate large areas of agricultural land -- directly around 72,367 hectares through these projects, while supporting many more through the basin system."

Rajora added, "It will also generate 125 MW of clean hydropower and provide drinking water to villages. Importantly, storing water in the steep-sloped upper reaches will reduce flood risks in the gently sloping middle reaches of the Narmada river, especially around Jabalpur and the Narmadapuram area." Officials said the dams would hold back heavy monsoon flows, lower flood peaks, protect villages and farmland, and reduce soil erosion downstream. They said controlled releases from these upper dams would improve water management for existing downstream projects such as the Bargi Dam and create a more efficient cascade system across the Narmada basin, allowing surplus monsoon water to be used through the year.

Rajora said, "The stored water will also serve as a reliable backup source for the nearly completed Sleemanabad Tunnel Project (India's longest irrigation tunnel, about 11.95 km long). This tunnel will carry regulated Narmada water to irrigate nearly 2.45 lakh hectares in the drought-prone Son basin districts." He also dismissed concerns about any loss of the state's share of Narmada water to Gujarat, saying, "Madhya Pradesh is already fully utilising its allocated 18.25 million acre-feet share of Narmada water during the non-monsoon season through completed and ongoing projects. There is no question of the state losing its water share."

Officials said that with the release of Rs 500 crore, land acquisition and survey work can now resume quickly in Dindori, Mandla and Anuppur districts. They said this should allow construction of the dams, powerhouses and modern piped irrigation systems to move forward. "Overall, these projects are a major step forward for irrigation expansion, clean energy generation, drinking water supply, flood control in the middle Narmada valley, and long-term water security in eastern Madhya Pradesh's tribal heartland," the officials said.

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