At a time when the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Dam on Thursday overflowed for the first time in the current monsoon, a Metropolitan Court in Delhi directed an anti-Narmada Dam activist Medha Patkar to pay Rs 9,000 to VK Saxena, the president of Ahmedabad-based NGO, National Council for Civil liberties in a defamation case.
Saxena had filed two defamation cases against Patkar. The leader of Narmada Bachao Andolan had also filed a similar case against the NCCl chief. The court had imposed a cost of Rs 15,000 on Patkar and asked her to deposit the money with Delhi law Society (DlS) in the last hearing conducted on April 6 for her failure to appear in the 12-year-old cross-cases of Saxena and Patkar. “Being a social worker, Patkar doesn’t have a source of income. She is surviving on the financial aid given by people who sympathise her cause,” said her counsel in plea for complete waiver. However, Saxena’s counsels opposed the plea and argued that she was deliberately not appearing in the court and a contempt of court proceedings be initiated against her.
After hearing both the party, the court directed to reduce the imposed cost from Rs 15,000 to Rs 9,000 and asked Patkar to pay the amount on August 6. The court also suggested resolving the matter amicably, but Saxena refused for settlement and said that the matter was serious in nature and his NGO had exposed her antinational activities. “She has also filed false case against me in Ahmedabad,” he told the court. Meanwhile, back in Gujarat, farmers are in upbeat mood after the Narmada Dam started overflowing. Sources in Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam limited said that due to water released from upstream dams in Madhya Pradesh, the Narmada Dam received fresh income and water level crossed 121.92 meter level.