The European Parliament,

A. having regard to the proposed constructed of the Sardar Sarovar Dam and Power Project and the Sardar-Sarovar Water Delivery and Drainage Project as part of the world's largest hydraulic engineering scheme along the Narmada river in India involving a total of 30 large, 135 medium-sized and 3000 small dams,

B. having regard to previous experience of large dams and the environmental damage they cause in the shape of salination, spread of marshlands and increased risk of earthquakes,

C. whereas the flooding caused by the Sardar-Sarovar dam (already under construction) will mean that at least 100 000 people will lose their homes and land, while a further 200 000 persons will be forced to move because of roadworks, canal building, etc undertaken in connection with the project,

D. whereas resettlement arrangements hitherto have been unsatisfactory and resettled populations complain of poor quality land, poor irrigation and lack of employment opportunities; whereas, moreover, village communities and even families, contrary to the authorities' own declarations of intent, were broken up in the course of such resettlement programmes,

E. whereas the social and ecological damage which will be caused (13 744 hectares of valuable forests and 11 318 hectares of fertile farmland will be flooded) appear to outweigh any economic advantages,

F. whereas there are a number of alternatives to the dam project which take better account of the wishes of the local population because they are based on more traditional irrigation technology,

G. whereas the World Bank, as the principal source of finance for the project, has suspended its aid pending the results of an independent on-the-spot inquiry,

H. whereas there is worldwide opposition to this project from NGOs, and in Europe, 150 Finnish members of parliament called on the World Bank to defer the loan in 1990, as did 128 Swedish parliamentarians and 21 MEPs in 1991,

1. Welcomes the World Bank's decision to re-examine the financing of this project, appreciates the reservations expressed by the World Bank in this matter and supports its decision to establish an independent committee of inquiry, which should carry out a comprehensive examination of the social, economic and ecological implications of the project;

2. Calls on Japan, as a possible source of finance, to follow the World Bank's example in this respect;

3. Calls on the Member States of the EC, as members of the World Bank, to provide solid support for the independent inquiry in the form of an appropriate commission;

4. Calls on the Member States to refuse approval for any further applications to the World Bank for loans for individual sub-projects forming part of the Sardar-Sarovar project or for the next major Narmada dam project, until comprehensive resettlement programmes have been submitted, sufficient fertile land has been designated for this purpose and every farmer receives adequate compensation in the shape of at least an equivalent number of hectares of comparable quality;

5. Calls on the Member States to refuse to grant bilateral loans for this project pending the submission of such resettlement programmes;

6. Calls on the Commission to make it clear to the Indian authorities that the planned project will cause many social, ecological and economic problems and that it should therefore be subject to an inquiry which must consider the alternatives to this project which have already been examined;

7. Calls on the Indian authorities and Government, the World Bank and the Member States to take particular care to involve the affected populations when examining and drawing up alternatives to the planned dams;

8. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Government of India, the governments of the states affected, the World Bank and the Government of Japan.