PM Modi to dedicate Narmada Dam to nation today, 56 years after Nehru started project

"The Congress committed the sin of obstructing the project at every step. Within 20 days of becoming prime minister, Modi gave final approval to raise the height of the dam," Gujarat BJP spokesperson Bharat Pandya said here. After the inauguration at the dam site at Kevadia, Modi will go to Sadhu Bet, an island in the Narmada river where a 182-metre tall statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, called 'Statue of Unity', and a memorial complex dedicated to the country's first home minister are coming up.

The delay in the completion of the dam was due to numerous reasons. Medha Patkar-led Narmada Bachao Andolan took the government to the Supreme Court over environmental and rehabilitation issues, and obtained a stay in 1996. The court allowed resumption of work in October 2000. The height of the dam was recently raised to 138.68 metres, which will allow maximum 'usable storage' of 4.73 million acre feet of water.