World Bank - The Narmada Valley Development Project

In 1978, India asked the World Bank for help in funding its Narmada Valley Development Project, which consisted of building a complex of dams along the Narmada River to provide potable water, irrigation, and hydroelectric power for people living within the region. In 1985, the World Bank agreed to help finance the construction of the Sardar Sarovar dam and provided $450 million. However, controversy arose concerning the dam as there were significant costs associated with its construction, including the displacement of indigenous peoples and a high environmental impact. A coalition of NGOs called the Save Narmada Movement lobbied for alternatives that would have a less negative impact. Due to such pressure, the World Bank withdrew its funding from the project in 1993. Despite the World Bank’s withdrawal, the Indian government was able to complete its construction of the Narmada Project in 2017, without ever addressing the concerns that NGOs advocated against. 

This committee will go back to the 1980s, when the Save Narmada Movement was lobbying for a more sustainable project to be built. Delegates will work to balance the interests of the Indian government with humanitarian and environmental interests while the backroom acts as critics of these initiatives from the perspective of activists and NGOs. Delegates should focus also on answering the following question, “How can the World Bank leverage its power to ensure that a project such as the Narmada dam is built sustainably?”

Sub-topics include but are not limited to:

• Evaluating the current impact of the Narmada Project and working backwards to either improve or maintain such results,

• How to best allocate World Bank funds to achieve maximum results, and;

• How much oversight should the World Bank have over the projects it funds.