Gujarat HC: Explain Narmada supply to farmers

AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat high court on Friday sought an affidavit from the government explaining the situation of water supply from the Narmada canal for agriculture in 16 villages that fall in Botad and Bhavnagar districts.


The HC sought an explanation from the authorities after it was surprised by photographs supplied by the petitioner — a farmer’s organization, Khedut Hit Rakshak Samiti.

The pictures were of pumps deployed along the Narmada canal to draw water illegally to irrigate fields in these 16 villages.

The petitioner’s advocate, Jitendra Pandya, flayed the state government’s reply that certain hectares of agriculture land was provided water for irrigation in this region. By placing the photographs before the court, the lawyer claimed that the government authorities seize pumps and lodge FIRs against farmers for water theft from Narmada canals in the state.

However, since a PIL was filed in 2017 demanding water supply in these 16 villages and the government falsely claimed to have supplied water for irrigation through Narmada canal, its officials are not taking any action for water theft against farmers. The farmers are allowed to draw water illegally.

Advocate Pandya later said that the court was surprised at seeing the photographs and considered the issue seriously. It has asked the government to file an affidavit in this regard after the summer vacation.

The petitioner NGO has complained to the court that though 16 villages fall in the command area of the Narmada project, the authorities have not supplied water to farmers of these villages in last eight years. The canals and sub-canals have been prepared and there is no technical hitch in fetching water to the fields, but the authorities are not inclined to supply water to the fields because they prefer supplying water to 300 industrial units in this area.