They are also to blame

Sir, - While discussing the report of the World Commission on Dams (WCD), Mr. L. C. Jain, former member of the Planning Commission, and Mr. Ramaswamy Iyer, former Water Resources Secretary, rightly criticised the Central Government for the delays in the completion of the ongoing projects spilling over even from the Fifth Five Year Plan (May 27). However, they cannot escape their share of the blame, having been in positions of authority. Hundreds of ongoing projects from the previous Plan periods should have been vigorously monitored and completed. Instead, new projects were sanctioned and financed, thus adding to the already overflowing list of spillover projects.

The WCD claims that it has offered viable options to avoid construction of dams. But it has failed to recognise the limitations in implementing these in developing countries such as India.

M. S. Menon,

New Delhi

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Section  : Opinion
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