For Immediate Release April 4, 2006

Press Contacts in India: Dr.Ravi Kuchimanchi - 022-25566703, 98336 68929 ,Prof.Om Damani . 93230 03401, Prof.Ravishankar Arunachalam -- 094440 84910

Press Contacts in the US: Dr. Aniruddha Vaidya 650 996 8249 and Kiran Kumar Vissa 240 485 8404

More than 300 scientists and engineers including several faculty membersfrom IITs, IISc-Bangalore and American universities such as University of Maryland and Yale have slammed the Sardar Sarovar engineers for projectingunrealistic power benefits and luring state governments into ignoring therehabilitation of 35,000 families in the submergence zone of the dam. Last week the SSP engineers claimed that when the dam is built to 121.9 meters,the electricity generated per day would be 3.48 crore units, valued at Rs 7
crore a day or Rs 2500 crores/year.

The scientists and engineers from some of the world's best institutions have
said this is impossible because even at the full dam height of 138.6 meters,
only about a third of this can be generated, and even that only in the first
few years. In subsequent years, after the irrigation networks on Narmada
dams are completed and waters are diverted to canals, a mere 10% of the
claimed units will be generated.

"We are aghast that the engineers are categorically stating false numbers,
indicating that they don't expect to be scrutinized. It becomes the
responsibility of the scientific community to challenge such
misrepresentation of technical information," said Kiran Vissa, an
electronics engineer from Maryland, USA, and a graduate of I.I.T. Chennai.
In 2004, the Chief Engineer (NVDA) claimed that Madhya Pradesh would get 370
MW of power, but in the next 20 months, the state received only an average
of 85 MW.

Since the power projections made on the Narmada Control Authority' s [NCA]
own website by the Central Electricity Authority corroborate the scientists'
stand, the SSP engineers ought to be aware that their claim of Rs 2500
crore/year is grossly incorrect. Taking a novel approach the scientists and
engineers have challenged the SSP engineers to publicly apologize for
misleading the people and join Medha Patkar's fast or to sign a legally
enforceable bond making them responsible for any shortfall below their
projected figures. If the SSP engineers sign such a bond they would have to
personally put up an amount ranging from Rs.1500 crores to Rs. 2300 crores
per year, since this is the order of exaggeration in their public
statements.

More than 70 people will undertake one-day solidarity fast on April 7th,
2006, in support of the indefinite fast taken up by Medha Patkar, Jamsing
Nargave and Bhagwatibai in New Delhi. The dam-affected people have urged the
state governments, the Prime Minister and the NCA to halt construction of
the dam until the pending land-for-land rehabilitation of tens of thousands
of families is completed as per the Narmada Tribunal Award and Supreme Court
judgment of March 2005.

The open challenge of SSP engineers by concerned scientists and engineers
across the world is hosted at the site
http://petitions.aidindia.org/narmada_petition/ and appeals to maintain
scientific ethics: " It is extremely important in the 21st century as we try
and become a developed nation, that we set high standards for both
scientific achievement and human rights. The issue is not only one of the
displaced people but also whether science can be misused without being
challenged by other scientists." They would be delighted if the SSP
engineers correct their power projections and express solidarity with the
fast.
Signed by --
-- Prof. Manoj Saranathan, Faculty, IISc Bangalore
-- Prof. Om Damani, Faculty IIT-Bombay
-- Prof. Mohan Bhagat, Faculty University of Maryland, USA
-- Prof Ravishankar Arunachalam, Faculty IIT-Madras
-- Dr Ravi Kuchimanchi, Founder, Association for India's Development

Related Links
"According to executive engineer Ashok Gajjar [SSP], a total of 3.48 crore
units of power worth Rs. 7 crore would be generated per day once the dam
height is raised to 121.92 metres. Annually, that amounts to power worth Rs.
2500 crore." -- Height of Hurdle, Sunday Express, (Indian Express, Sunday
edition) April 2 2006
Scientists and Engineers' Open Challenge to SSP claims -
http://petitions.aidindia.org/narmada_petition/
Executive Summary of the open challenge to SSP Engineers -
 http://petitions.aidindia.org/narmada_petition/executive.php
Facts and Ficton: Power Generation in SSP
 http://petitions.aidindia.org/narmada_petition/factsfiction.php