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dam-l LS: Kutch Kisan Sangh threatens to go Medha Way
NB. An explanatory background note follows this story
Indian Express, Baroda-30.9.1999.
Kutch Kisan Sangh threatens to go Medha Way
D.V.Maheshwari
Bhuj, Sept.29.
The Kutch Kisan Sangh, one of the most active and formidable units of
the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh in the State whose open revolt and poll
boycott call early this month is perceived to have damaged BJP prospects
in the Kutch parliamentary seat, is still up in arms. In fact, it is
threatening to intensify its stir if the State Government does not give
the border district its "rightful share of Narmada water".
"Our action will be very drastic this time and we are even considering
coining a new slogan 'No Narmada if no water to Kutch' even if that
means talking in the language of anti-Narmada activist Medha Patkar,"
Kutch Kisan Sangh president Veljibhai Bhudia told this paper in an
exclusive interview on Tuesday.
Bhudia had gone underground during the first phase of parliamentary
election after inserting a half-page advertisement in local newspapers
asking the people of Kutch in general and its 1.30 lakh member-voters in
particular not to vote for BJP candidate Pushpadan Gadhvi in view of the
indifferent attitude of Industry Minister Suresh Mehta's group which
Gadhvi belonged to. Bhudia said the organisation was now waiting for
the outcome of the election next month to decide on its future course of
action.
He said though he and other Kisan leaders had now emerged from hiding,
no one from the Government or from the BJP had approached them or made
any statement on whether perennially dry Kutch would get its share of
Narmada water.
The Kisan leader said that though theirs was a political wing of the
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and they were in principle not against the
BJP government led Patel, they would go to any extent in their
agitational programme in getting Narmada water. "We only want water as
per the share officially earmarked in 1972 by the State Government,"
Bhudia asserted.
He said farmers in Kutch were so agitated about the matter that 30 of
them had declared their intention of immolating themselves in the last
kisan rally in March this year here.
But they were prevented from doing so following an assurance from Chief
Minister Keshubhai Patel sent through his special emissary and GMDC
chairman Mukesh Zaveri.
He said the Chief Minister who had described the Kutch demand for
adequate water as a genuine one had not held any talks with them
involving experts as was promised by him
Bhudia said the government had also not responded to the suggestion of
Bharatiya Kisan Sangh's national president Kunvarjibhai that the main
Narmada canal be extended from Kadi to Salimgadh to enable Kutch to have
a 350-cusecs canal from Adesar, the entry point of the district in the
east.
He said the present allocated of water was unjust as Kutch possessed
one-fourth of the landmass in the State with no water sources and scanty
rainfall. It had received only two percent of Narmada water, while
central and south Gujarat which had a number of big rivers were to get
98 per cent of the water.
"How can this injustice can tolerated? he asked, adding that the
government needed to be shown 'Kutchchi pani' (strength).
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Background note from NBA:
NBA has always been raising the issue of who is to benefit at whose
cost. It is clear from the official plan of the SSP that though the Govt
propaganda said that this project is for Kutch, North Gujarat and
Saurashtra, only 1.97% of cultivable area of Kutch, only 9.27% of the
cultivable area of Saurashtra and only 20% of the cultivable area of
North Gujarat falls under the SSP command and even this small portion is
to reach in the year 2020-25. But according to NBA, even this small
portion will not reach the drought prone areas because of the following
reasons:
1. Only 43% of the estimated benefits are being achieved from
irrigation projects in Gujarat (Source: Report by the committee
appointed by the legislative assembly, Guj.) The National average is
45%. So the tail ends never get water.
2. The areas of Kutch and saurashtra will get water(according to the
official source) only if sugarcane is not allowed in large quantity in
the initial SSP command. But the GOG gave licence to 13 sugar industries
in the command- two of them largest in Asia. One near Amod has already
come up. The plan is to give water to sugar lobby. Most of the water
to be used up in sugarcane cultivation.
3. In the SSP plan, cities like Baroda and Ahmedabad were not supposed
to be given water- but today, the Nigam is negotiating the price of
selling water to AMC and all parties in these two cities have
unanimously declared that they will not allow the water to flow ahead
from the canals till the needs are met.
4.Earlier, very little water in the plan was kept for
industries but today, the SSNNL is planning to sell water to big
industries of Gujarat to make more money.
5. A strip along the canal is being planned to promote water parks,
golf course, star hotels, etc to raise funds. Preliminary plan already
ready.
6. The command of SSP in Gujarat was based on the assumption that
Guj. will get 9 MAF water from the narmada - which has 28 MAF flowing
annually. But today the CWC, GOI says that there is only 23 MAF of water
in Narmada, so the share of Gujarat will obviously reduce and the tail
enders will be left out.
NBA with all these facts had approached the people of Kutch and
saurashtra and the local people there had organised a number of meetings
inviting NBA to know these facts. But most of these meetings though
organised by the local people where hundreds had come to listen were
sabotaged and attacked by a handful of goons of all political parties of
Gujarat while the police remained inactive. The meeting at Bhavnagar,
Bhuj, Gandhidham, Pani parishad at Ahmedabad, are a few examples.
Fortunately, inspite of this and a massive propaganda the facts have
trickled down to the people of Kutch and Saurashtra and recently the
Kutch people have also filed an affidavit in the Gujarat high court.
In the SC also, NBA has raised the whole question of benefits and our
position is that even if the GOG increases the share of water to the
drought prone areas of Gujarat on paper and change the plan on paper,
the canals and water first cross the politically strong areas of Kheda,
baroda, Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar with a strong Sugar lobby and
industrial lobby and they will use up all the water and will never allow
it to reach the tail ends. It is best to implement true solutions in the
form of watershed management in these areas that are completely ignored
as all the resources of the state in the form of money, time, etc are
diverted to SSP alone. There are other cheaper solutions planned by the
GOG itself like the pipeline schemes from the Mahi or the Narmada but do
not get implemented due to lack of political will to provide water to
the drought prone areas of Gujarat faster and in less costs.
Things have become serious as a week ago, while inaugurating a sugar
factory, a religious leader Swami Sachidanada said that- Medha Patkar
does not have a right to ask how the waters of Narmada in Gujarat will
be used. He further added in the inaugurating function where even Sanat
Mehta, the ex chairman of the SSNNL was present that the police in
Gujarat is killing anti social elements in encounters, police should
also do the same to Medha and her group in encounters and Medha should
be burnt in the fire of Holi!! It is becoming clear that the Sugar lobby
of Gujarat wants water at any cost, even if it means that the people in
the drought prone areas remain thirsty.
Some of the prominent politicians of all the parties of Gujarat like
Manubhai Kotadia- ex water resource minister, GOI, Sanat Mehta of
Congress, Jaynarayan Vyas of BJP (when not in power and not Narmada
minister), Mahendra Desai of RJP, Chabildas Metha- ex CM of Guj, and
even sarvoday leader like Chunibhai Vaidiya, etc. have gone on record
and have clearly stated that the waters of this project are not
reaching most parts of Kutch and Saurashtra and the allocation is
unjust. We have these records with us for reference.
It is important to highlight this issue that the powerful and rich
vested interest of Gujarat want to take away all the resources by
displacing lakhs of people in the name of National interest and the
drought prone areas of Gujarat.
Nandini.