Maheshwar, Madhya Pradesh:
The Ministry of Environment and Forest had recently suspended all work on the controversial Maheshwar Dam in Madhya Pradesh's Khargone district for non compliance of environmental guidelines.
Members of the Narmada Bachao Andolan spearheading an indefinite agitation and hunger strike called off their agitation after the Environment Ministry order but it seems the order has not changed anything on ground zero. An NDTV team finds out that in complete violation of the order, work is going on in full swing on the dam.
It seems Environment Minister Jairam Rameshs' order has not been taken very seriously either by the state government or by the Maheshwar Hydel Power Corporation, instead of suspending the work it's on in full swing.
NDTV talked to workers there at the site of the dam.
NDTV: Has the work stopped or continuing?
Mahesh, labourer: It's going on.
NDTV: What kind of work is going on?
NDTV: All kind of work is going on.
The staff of S Kumars at the site, the company building the dam, stopped the NDTV crew from shooting saying it will get them into trouble.
Despite repeated attempts, the company was not forthcoming with an explanation. Even more shocking, the district administration says it can't do anything as it hasn't got the government's ban order.
"I have only read about the order in the newspaper. I have yet to get a copy of it. Once I get it I will take action," said Shalini Surte, Deputy Collector, Mandelshwar.
About eighty per cent of the construction work on the dam is complete. Only 5 per cent of the nearly seventy thousand people displaced by the project have been rehabilitated till now and ban or not, the work at Maheshwar dam is in full flow.