A temporary stay has been put on the plans to increase the height of the Sardar Sarovar Dam with the Jabalpur High Court accepting a petition filed by the Narmada Bachao Andolan on Wednesday.

The Narmada Control Authority had passed an order on June 12 allowing Sardar Sarovar Nigam Ltd to increase in height of the dam by about 17 metres.

However, the High Court has accepted the petition filed by the non-Governmental organisation (NGO) led by Medha Patkar, which argued against this order claiming ₹1,000 crore corruption in the process of rehabilitating project-affected people. The next hearing in the matter would be held on July 25.

The Court has ruled that the height of the dam will not be raised till the S.S. Jha Commission, which was set up in 2008 to conduct an enquiry into this alleged irregularity, till this enquiry is completed.

"The enquiry by Jha Commission is at a critical stage. However, ignoring the ongoing processes, the order to increase the height of the dam is a gross violation of High Court and Supreme Court orders. This is a conspiracy to protect the middlemen and government officials involved in the irregularities and corruption in the process of rehabilitation of project affected families," the Narmada Bachao Andolan said.

The Jabalpur High Court has also issued notices to the Principal Secretary, Madhya Pradesh, Vice Chairman of Narmada Valley Development Authority and the Chairman of the Narmada Control Authority.

Allegedly, 2,500 fake registries, showing purchase of land for the rehabilitation of project-affected families have been made. This amounts to a ₹1,000 crore corruption, the Narmada Bachao Andolan claims.

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