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dam-l ORGEN REPLY TO IRN STATEMENT IN WASHINGTON

Source: The Statesman, March 30, 2000

Ogden pledges care of oustees

                      DESIKAN THIRUNARAYANAPURAM
                      STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE

                      WASHINGTON, March 29. — A US company involved in
the controversial
                      Maheshwar Dam project on the Narmada in Madhya
Pradesh has said it is
                      sensitive to the problems of those the project
will displace.
                      “We have taken great steps towards resolving the
issue in the interest of the
                      affected families,” a senior Ogden Energy
Corporation official said yesterday.
                      Mr Kent Burton, senior vice-president for policy
and international governmental
                      relations, was reacting to a letter from a group
of environmental organisations
                      asking the company to withdraw from the project.
                      The letter, written by the California-based
International Rivers Network and
                      endorsed by 124 organisations from 27 countries,
said: “NGOs will not hesitate
                      to inform the shareholders and other stakeholders
of Ogden Corporation about
                      the social, environmental, legal and financial
risks of the Maheshwar project.”
                      According to the IRN and the Narmada Bachao
Andolan, the Maheshwar Dam
                      would submerge about 1,100 hectares of rich
agricultural land and displace more
                      than 35,000 people in 61 villages.
                      Mr Burton said he had met three Indian-American
representatives of the NBA in
                      New York recently to reassure them on the proposed
resettlement of displaced
                      villagers. The steps, which he didn’t elaborate,
would be carried out in
                      collaboration with the Madhya Pradesh government.
                      The IRN had claimed that no representative of the
company visited the affected
                      areas.
                      But Mr Burton said he visited the villages last
Saturday and met the those who
                      will be affected. “There were some protesters but
most families we saw were
                      pleased and appreciative of the project.”
                      He denied the environmentalists’ claim that the
400 MW hydropower project
                      would make electricity too expensive for the poor
villagers.