THE first South Asia Public Hearing on Large Dams scheduled to be held on September 21-22, has been postponed. The hearing, organised by the World Commission on Dams (WCD) was postponed on the request of the Planning Commission which said it was not the right time for such a hearing as the case of the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) was pending in the Supreme Court. The hearing was to include several other dams which have been or are being built in India as well.

Medha Patkar, a member of the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), one of the 12 commissioners on the recently constituted WCD, criticised the government for scuttling the hearing.

The WCD is supported by the World Bank and has representatives from different countries, NCOS, experts and economists on its panel. It was formed last year to assess the effectiveness of large dams, to investigate the options, and give advice on future projects relating to energy and water sectors.