A day after the Supreme Court verdict on the controversial Narmada dam project, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Tuesday that the government was committed to addressing such issues and favoured a credible mechanism to ensure development is 'cost-effective, environment-friendly and least disruptive'.
"We need to quickly evolve a credible mechanism whereby these issues do not generate into confrontations between sections of our society and development is not perceived as threat to peoples lives and habitats," Dr Singh said, inaugurating the Confederation of Indian Industry's annual session.
"I think the time has come to squarely address the issue of development, displacement and environment in a manner whereby all stakeholders benefit to some degree from development," he said.
This was the only path to a prosperous future, he said, emphasising that the government was committed to addressing these issues in full measure.
Asking Indian industry to pay closer attention to environmental consequences of industrial development, he said, "You must pay more attention to the rehabilitation of people displaced by the spread of industrial activity and by urbanisation".
On a petition by the Narmada Bachao Andolan, whose leader Medha Patkar went on a hunger strike, the Supreme Court had ruled that the construction work on the Sardar Sarovar Project should continue simultaneously with effective rehabilitation of the affected people.
The apex court had also said it was essential to strike a balance when such a vast project was being carried out and a large number of people were affected.
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