Skip to main content

Narmada dam oustees have been half-heartedly compensated. Can Sardar Sarovar Project be called 'successful'?

NBA leader Medha Patkar (right)
Counterview Desk
Statement by Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA):
In all, in Madhya Pradesh 22,822 hectares of land has been submerged, out of which 7,883 hectares is prime fertile agricultural land. This has displace 32,679 families (which is of a magnitude unprecedented in human history). Of these 15,946 families displaced have been half-heartedly compensated. Can, even after all this, the Sardar Sarovar Project, be called 'successful'?
In March 2017 the Narmada Control Authority in its annual report declared completion of Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) work. Then how come between June 2017 and August 2017, the state of Madhya Pradesh declared in Rs 900 crore package for compensating the displaced?
According to the 8 February 2017 order of the Supreme Court, families who were refused 5 acres of land were ordered Rs 60 lakh in compensation, and families duped in the rehabilitation scam (ranging in crores) were to be paid Rs. 15 lakh compensation and relief. While 734 families received the Rs 60 lakh package, hundreds of families still remain.
According to Madhya Pradesh government records only 993 families out of 1,358 have been compensated till now. Hundreds of names in the eligibility list of Rs 5.80 lakh package are fake. According to orders of the Supreme Court, as also the order of the Madhya Pradesh High Court dated 28 November 2017 given to the Grievance Redressal Authority, all facilities were to be provided in the rehabilitation sites, but not even 1% of that is fulfilled.
By 31 April 2018 all rehabilitation sites and displaced people are be provided with adequate water and drinking water but today, when this destructive project has caused a drought, where will that water come from? Promises of water harvesting, earthquake monitoring and rehabilitation of temples and religious sites still remain incomplete. And still the project was shown to be complete with 100% rehabilitation in court and was forcibly inaugurated on the birthday of Narendra Modi.
Today, there are plans to interlink Narmada with Kshipra, Gambhir, Kali, Sindhu, Mahi and Parvati rivers. There are declarations that 70 cities and 300 villages in Malwa will be given water from Narmada. Industries all across have been relentlessly pumping water from Narmada for industrial output.
Even after inauguration, in Gujarat only 6 lakh hectares out of the promised 18 lakh hectares are officially supposed to be receiving irrigation waters from the Sardar Sarovar Project. Truth is, not even 3 lakh hectares are getting that benefit. With the electricity plant shut, Madhya Pradesh can't even receive 50% of the electricity it was allocated.

Comments

TRENDING

Defeat of martial law: Has the decisive moment for change come in South Korea?

By Steven Lee  Late at night on December 3, soldiers stormed into South Korea’s National Assembly in armored vehicles and combat helicopters. Assembly staff desperately blocked their assault with fire extinguishers and barricades. South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol had just declared martial law to “ eliminate ‘anti-state’ forces .”

70,000 migrants, sold on Canadian dream, face uncertain future: Canada reinvents the xenophobic wheel

By Saurav Sarkar*  Bikram Singh is running out of time on his post-study work visa in Canada. Singh is one of about 70,000 migrants who were sold on the Canadian dream of eventually making the country their home but now face an uncertain future with their work permits set to expire by December 2024. They came from places like India, China, and the Philippines, and sold their land and belongings in their home countries, took out loans, or made other enormous commitments to get themselves to Canada.

EVMs: Govt must prove beyond reasonable doubt it's upholding mandate for free, fair polls

By Jerald D’souza  With the growth of India’s population, concerns about electoral fraud associated with ballot papers, also began to escalate. In 1989, the People’s Representation Act was amended to enable EVMs to prevent electoral fraud. In 1998, EVMs made their debut during legislative assembly elections and for the first time for general elections in 2004. However, criticisms against the EVMs and questions about their integrity have been raised by political parties, civil society and the general population. On 2 February 2024, there was a noteworthy demonstration of dissent where numerous individuals, including Ambedkarite advocates, legal professionals, and other members of civil society  convened at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar demanding the prohibition of EVMs. In 2024, the Supreme court had slapped down a petition to return to paper ballots on the basis that machines give “absolutely accurate results” unless human bias maligns them. The court stated that it was open to testi...

This Indian British Marxist blamed USSR's collapse in 1991 on Khrushchev's 'revisionism'

By Harsh Thakor*  Harpal Singh Brar, British Indian Marxist scholar and communist leader, has passed away in Chandigarh. He was 85. He was a lifelong supporter of socialism, Marxism, and the working class. He will be remembered among British Communists.

A groundbreaking non-violent approach: Maharishi’s invincible defense technology

By MajGen (R) Kulwant Singh, Col (R) SP Bakshi, Col (R) Jitendra Jung Karki, LtCol (R) Gunter Chassé & Dr David Leffler*  In today’s turbulent world, achieving lasting peace and ensuring national security are more urgent than ever. Traditional defense methods focus on advanced weapons, military strategies, and tactics, but a groundbreaking approach offers a new non-violent and holistic solution: Maharishi’s Invincible Defense Technology (IDT). 

Chalapathi's death in encounter suggests Maoists' inability to establish broader mass support

By Harsh Thakor* The Maoist movement experienced a significant loss during the Ramagudem encounter on January 21, with the death of Chalapathi (Pratap), a Central Committee member of the CPI (Maoist). His death, along with 15 others, marks a major setback for the movement. Reports suggest that his location was revealed to security forces through a selfie with his wife.

Why do we mostly resist and refrain from communicating on sanitation topic?

By Nikhil Kumar, Mansee Bal Bhargava* According to UN SDG Progress report (2022), at the present moment no targets for SDG 6 are expected to be met by 2030. In 2022, 2.2 billion people had no access to safe drinking water and 3.5 million lacked safe sanitation. Approximately 50% of the world’s population was reported to have been under resourced in enough water for part of the year and a quarter of that population was living under “extremely high” water stress. Add to it, droughts have affected over 1.4 billion people between 2002 and 2021.

CCG raises concerns over Indian State of Forest Report 2023 in open letter to environment minister

By A Representative  The Constitutional Conduct Group (CCG), a collective of former civil servants, has expressed serious concerns over the Indian State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2023 in an open letter to the Union Minister for Environment, Forests & Climate Change. The group has criticized the report's delayed release, flawed methodology, and misleading claims regarding the state of India's forests.

Govt of India asked to work for release of 217 Indian fishermen detained in Pakistan since 2021

By A Representative  Members of the fishing communities from Gujarat and Diu, Union Territory, held a press conference in Ahmedabad, urging the Union Government to take proactive measures to secure the release of Indian fishermen currently detained in Pakistan. Presently, 217 Indian fishermen, mostly from Gujarat and Diu, are held in Pakistan’s Malir Jail. Of these, 53 have been incarcerated since 2021 and 130 since 2022.

Operation Kagar represents Indian state's intensified attempt to extinguish Maoism: Resistance continues

By Harsh Thakor Operation Kagar represents the Indian state's intensified attempt to extinguish Maoism, which claims to embody the struggles and aspirations of Adivasis. Criminalized by the state, the Maoists have been portrayed as a threat, with Operation Kagar deploying strategies that jeopardize their activities. This operation weaves together economic, cultural, and political motives, allegedly with drone attacks on Adivasi homes.