Arable land and fresh water are two important resources of India. India's arable land area is 30% more than that of China which is as such three times India in size - geographically. India's surface water estimated at 1952 BCM is about two-third that of China. India's northern region makes up the World's largest alluvial plane and the soils rank among the most fertile in the World.

The Sardar Sarovar Project, or any other large water resources project for that matter, has to be viewed in this national perspective.

In course of 50 years of planned economic development of our country, we have taken tremendous strides in agriculture sector. Our country which had to depend upon imports to feed even a population of 350 millions  when we became independent, has attained a position of self sufficiency with some exportable surplus even with a population of over 1 billion. This has been made possible by harnessing waters of major rivers of our country with a chain of large multipurpose projects starting from Bhakhara Nangal, Hirakud, Nagarjuna Sagar, Tungabhadra etc. India's population continues to grow notwithstanding our all out efforts on family planning front. Various studies indicate that country's population continues to grow.  Harnessing the water resources of the country is the only way to sustain our self-sufficiency in basic requirement of food and clothing. Other countries of the World have also done the same. And the faster we go on this path better assured we shall be on the food security and keeping poverty and hunger at bay, improving the quality of life and providing electricity to light the rural homes.  This dam can accomplish this.
Hydropower is environment friendly and relatively cheaper energy. It does not involve import of petroleum fuel and hence spares our country from the burden of foreign exchange outflow. It also reduces our dependence and vulnerability to petroleum exporting countries. The progress of large dams has been delayed and after 1967-68 the share of hydropower has been declining and to day it is only about 26-26%.

A matter of equal concern is the sufferings of millions of people residing in water deficit areas. The womenfolk have to walk long distance for minimum requirement of water for drinking and domestic use. This impairs their productive capacity and health. In many of these regions they are forced to use salinity affected, fluoride affected and nitrite affected water. There is also human distress in terms of poverty, unemployment and migration on account of non-availability of minimum water supply. Water deficiency also aggravates environmental degradation, ingress of salinity and lack of green cover. As has been done in USA, Israel and elsewhere, there is no option but to transfer water as a basic necessity of life from surplus to deficit areas. Such a transfer can be made only by techno-economically feasible large dams and transmission system of canals. The Narmada Project is just this.

The mean annual flow of Narmada River is more than combined flow of Ravi, Beas and Satlaj rivers. These three Punjab rivers have not only taken Punjab and Haryana and North Rajasthan on the path of green revolution, but have provided a granary to the nation. Narmada river has potential of transforming Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and southern part of Rajasthan in the same way. It is imperative for the nation to make best use of this water. SSP aims to meet this imperative.

Every development project has its cost. While economic cost/benefit analysis is being traditionally done, there is a greater emphasis these days on human and environment cost. During the hey days of Industrial and Technological revolutions, the mills of economic development of western world ground fast and fine, not caring either for human rights or for ecological consequences. With accumulation of wealth and affluence, finer sentiments of human rights and environment are now surfacing. And what is good for G-7 has to be good for the rest of the World! So our urbanite elite have also adopted human and environmental issues as the State of the Art evaluation angle.
This is not to say that human and environment aspects should be overlooked. They must be examined. But not only cost but also benefits. And not only cost of implementing a project, but the cost of not implementing it! This is because, for countries of Asia and Africa, where basic amenities of life such as healthy drinking water, minimum food, fuel and lighting are yet a far cry for large sections of population, the cost of non-implementation of a project can be perpetuating these miseries! How can we ignore it!
For instance, miseries of water starved regions, even in normal years, and aggravated in drought years have to be weighed again the trauma of displacement of families which will have to move out. Similarly the degradation of environment and onslaught on ecology of arid regions due to advancement of desert, salinity ingress, loss of green cover and biotic life etc. have to be considered against the disturbance in ecology and environment of submerging areas.

In the Sardar Sarovar Project we have undertaken this task of managing our water resources for National interest - our food security, energy security and upgrading the quality of life - including that of people who would be required to shift from submergence areas. It is a national project in the true sense.