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dam-l LS: Maheshwar Resettlement Claims Untrue
Press Release/ 7.9.99
There have been reports in the press, on the basis of a Press Trust of
India release of
5th September, 1999, that quotes the Collector, Khargone, Shri. Bhupal
SIngh as saying that 13 villages affected by the Maheshwar
Hydro-electric project have accepted rehabilitation and that this is a
big blow to the Narmada Bachao Andolan.
As the organisation of the people living in the 61 villages to be
affected by the Maheshwar Hydro-electric project, we wish to inform you
that the news is completely false.
The truth is that the promoters of the project - the S. Kumars company
has not offered a single project affected family " land for land" for
rehabilitation. It may be noted that the Rehabilitation Policy of Madhya
Pradesh for the oustees of the Narmada Projects, the Implementation and
Rehabilitation Agreements that have been legally contracted between the
state of Madhya Pradesh and the promoter company as well as the
statutorily required environmental clearance of the Ministry
of Environment and Forest all stipulate that the proposed oustees must
be given agricultural land in lieu. The environmental clearance directs
that land must also be given to the landless, encroachers and adult
sons.
However, as the Madhya Pradesh government-constituted Task Force has
noted in its report, the project authorities have not been able to
demonstrate any land at all for the rehabilitation of the Maheshwar
project oustees. The presigious Tata Institute of Social Sciences have
also concluded on the basis of a detailed study that there is no land or
credible plan for rehabilitation of Maheshwar project oustees.
As recently as 28th August, 1999, the affected people of villages Lepa,
Teliyan, Sasawad, Bhatiyan, Amlatha took out a march to Kasarawad - the
tehsil headquarters. They challenged the government officials to show
any availability of agricultural land and submitted resolutions signed
by entire Gram Sabhas rejecting resettlement sites with only houseplots.
They said that the project authorities have completely failed in
rehabilitating people as per policy and now are attempting to substitute
full rehabilitation with 60'x90' house plots, and that this constitutes
violations of the human and legal rights, as well as state policy.
It may be noted that the authorities have not even been able to give a
single sqare inch of agricultural land to people from Jalud, the first
village to be affected by the dam. Whenever affected people have
insisted on their rights such as Geeta bai Shankar and Shantilal bhai
who are losing their farms in Jalud, they have been intimidated and S.
Kumars have dumped truckloads of stone on their land in order to seize
them.
Because of continuous violations , and complete failure of the
rehabilitation process, the two German power utilities - Bayernwerk and
VEW Energie withdrew from their committment to give Rs. 308 crores -49%
of the total project equity. This was a big blow to the promoters S.
Kumars.
Presently, the German government has received a request for guarantee
for a Rs. 523 crore loan to be given to the Project from Siemens Co. and
Hypo-Vereunsbank of Germany, and are presently investigating it.
It is clear that the blatant violations of the rehabilitation policy and
related legal contracts and clearances by the project authorities as
well as prohibitively high cost of power to be produced by this project
- Rs. 7.50 per kwh which cannot be used or purchased by any consumer,
and the strong, unrelenting struggle onthe ground constitute anormous
legal, political and financial risks.
The Project has already lost 49% of its equity. If this guarantee for
the Rs. 523 crore loan is not given, the Maheshwar Project will become a
non-starter. It is in this context that the S. Kumars and the district
administration have embarked on a deliberate misinformation and slander
campaign, including false claims about rehabilitation.
The NBA and the affected people of the area condemns the promoter
company S.Kumars and the district administration for these false
statements and expresses its resolve to take legal action against the
district administraion, and the PTI for giving the same.
Chittaroopa Palit
Urmila Patidar
(Village Pathrad)