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dam-l LS: The Hindu on German Maheshwar Review
German review faults Maheshwar dam project : The Hindu : 6/30/2000
http://www.the-hindu.com/stories/0230000r.htm
German review faults Maheshwar dam project
By Kalpana Sharma
MUMBAI, JUNE 29. The Maheshwar Hydel Project on the Narmada river has received
a virtual no-confidence vote from an Independent Review appointed by the
German Government. The review was undertaken following a request by the German
engineering giant, Siemens, for an export credit guarantee to supply turbines
for the project.
Headed by Dr. Richard E. Bissell, executive director, Policy Division at the
U.S. National Research Council, who had earlier headed the World Bank's
Inspection Panel, the report of the Independent Review has faulted the project
on practically all major aspects of resettlement and rehabilitation. The
review was commissioned by the German Government's Ministry of Economic
Cooperation and Development.
The Bissell report found that the Maheshwar Project, which is one of the 30
large dams originally planned to be built on the Narmada River, faced several
problems in the area of resettlement and rehabilitation of people affected by
the project. Attention to this has been drawn by the on-going agitation
against the project in Maheshwar led by the Narmada Bachao Andolan.
The project itself has gone through several changes. Launched in 1975 by the
Narmada Valley Development Authority (NVDA), the project was handed over to
the Madhya Pradesh Electricity Board (MPEB) in 1989.
The MPEB and the Madhya Pradesh Government, as part of the plan to involve
private investors, brought in S. Kumars into the project in 1994 and set up
the Shree Maheshwar Hydro-electric Power Corporation Ltd. (SMHPC). This in
turn needed foreign investment. Two German companies that had initially shown
interest pulled out.
This year, the U.S.-based Ogden Corporation has evinced interest and signed a
Memorandum of Intent during the U.S. President, Mr. Clinton's visit to India
in March to take 49 per cent shareholding in the project.
The report, however, could deter foreign investment as it has found that even
the data on the number of people to be affected by the project has not been
compiled. The last survey undertaken was in 1993. It came up with the figure
of 4,000 oustee households on the basis of which calculations for investment
in resettlement have been made.
Since then, a new survey has been conducted in just one of 61 villages that
will be affected. Here, the number of oustees has increased from 190 to 300
households. The survey has not included landless people who will also be
affected by the project. The Bissell committee has therefore concluded that
the number of oustees is likely to be much larger than anticipated in the
project plan.
The Review also points out that no socio-economic survey has been conducted to
assess the extent of the impact. Further, of the 1,172 hectares of irrigated
land that are needed, if the figure of 4,000 oustees is accepted, only 25
hectares have been acquired.
The accepted resettlement policy requires project authorities to give a
minimum of two hectares of irrigated land to oustees. The review found that
the land that had been acquired was ``not cultivable without treatment''
An even more fundamental problem was that of ascertaining the ``flood level'',
which would then indicate the amount of land that would eventually be
submerged once the project is in place. Even on this there is no agreement,
the committee noted.
The report concludes: ``The approach of the R & R programme to date has failed
to be transparent, participatory or democratic, and dissent has been handled
with police force rather than communication. The provisions for monitoring and
evaluation are token efforts rather than a serious endeavour to ensure a
comprehensive R & R process''.
Such an adverse conclusion on a project that has been mired in controversy is
unlikely to contribute to investor confidence.