Narmada river is the 5th largest river in India and flows from
highlands of eastern Madhya Pradesh near Amarkantak to the Bay
of Camay in Gujarat, running 1312 kms. And draining a basin of
98,800sq. kms. Passing through the states of Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra and Gujarat the river carries almost the same waters
as those of Ravi, Beas and Satlej of Punjab put together. Only
less than 5% of the Narmada waters have so far been harnessed
almost entire average annual flow of 41,000 MCM is going into
the sea. While such huge water resource is being wasted without
any use, large areas in western Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and
South Rajasthan continue to suffer from droughts and floodwaters
are causing huge damages to the life and property in Gujarat. It
was the late Sardar Vallabhabhai Patel who conceived the idea of
constructing a dam over the river Narmada in 1946-47 for the
optimum use of Narmada waters for the welfare of the Nation.
After Independence, development of water resources was
considered a priority area