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DAM-L LS: PR: Scrap Maheshwar Project, Refuse Hermes Guarantee (fwd)
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subject: LS: PR: Scrap Maheshwar Project, Refuse Hermes Guarantee
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Narmada Bachao Andolan
Jail Road, Mandleshwar, M.P.
Telefax: 07283-33162,
E-mail: nobigdam@vsnl.com
PRESS NOTE
Mandleshwar, 21.07.2000
SCRAP MAHESHWAR PROJECT, REFUSE HERMES GUARANTEE
Around 5000 people gathered at Maheshwar affected village Pathrad
today to welcome the recently released German Development Ministry
report on the status and possibility of rehabilitation of the
affected people of the Maheshwar Project impact zone. At the
initiative of the elected people's representatives of the area, the
affected people passed an unanimous resolution calling upon the
German government to refuse the Siemens application for a German
guarantee to this Project. The resolution also asked all foreign
companies to leave this destructive Project, sooner rather than
later. The resolution urged the State and Central governments to
scrap this Project and implement cheaper and better energy
alternatives.
Today on the 21st of July, 2000 a beautiful and spectacular boat
rally was held at Pathrad on the Narmada river. The boats that had
been brought in by boatspeople- the Kewats and the Kahars sailing all
night from villages several kms. upstream, but in the submergence of
the Maheshwar Project, sported brilliant sails as they floated on the
rain swollen monsoon river, many sails having been painted by
renowned artists from all over India. The air was thick with slogans,
especially: Kewat - Kahar ka ek hi nara / Nahi chodenge Narmada
kinara (The Kewats and Kahars have only one cry , we will never leave
the banks of the Narmada). The boat rally was followed by a large
sammelan of thousands of affected men and women along with the
majority of the elected representatives of the area, as well as
supporters from all over India. These included people from Bargi dam,
Sardar Sarovar, Adivasi Shramik Sanghatan, Betul, representatives
from Delhi, Hoshangabad, Ahmedabad, Jabalpur, Tamil Nadu and Indore.
It may be noted that in a very significant development, a hard
hitting report of the Development Ministry of Germany made public
last fortnight has severely indicted the social and environmental
viability of the Maheshwar project and found that the rehabilitation
of the thousands of affected families is well nigh impossible. The
report was an investigation of the Siemens application for an export
guarantee to be given to a 5300 million Rs. tied loan to be given by
the private German Hypo-Vereinsbank to the Maheshwar Project for the
purchase of turbines from Siemens. The investigation team comprised
of renowned experts from India, Germany and the U.S.
This report stated that even at this stage there was significant
uncertainty about the numbers of families and the area to be affected
by the Project, that the "Land for land" principle of the state
rehabilitation Policy had been flagrantly violated by the Project
authorities, more, that the principle of land even to the landless
stipulated by the Ministry of Environment's conditional clearance had
been violated. Rather the Project authorities had tried to compel the
affected people to accept cash compensation, and that those who had
accepted were in an economic position whereby they could never hoped
to have their livelihoods restored. The report noted that the Project
authorities simply have no cultivable lands to rehabilitate the
affected people, and that if all the affected people were included in
the affected category and were to be compensated by land, the cost of
the new package would be several times larger than the original
package and that the Project might even become financiallly unviable.
The program at the river began with a Narmada Bhajan. The Kewats and
Kahars standing in the scores of boats bobbing on the river, spoke
about what it means to live on the banks of the Narmada. Babu
bhai,Kahar, from Pathrad said that we,the Kewats and Kahars are the
children of the Narmada and will never leave her banks or let this
dam be built even if we have to face submergence.
Mangat Verma, a fisherman and leader of the Andolan from the first
village Lepa on which the dam is to be built said that "We welcome
the report because it has highlighted the issue of our livelihoods.
For generations our ancestors have led prosperous lives along the
banks of this river fishing, doing cultivating on the river draw-down
and now quarrying sand as well. Yet thousands of such families who
are losing their livelihoods because of the submergence of their
resource base, have not even been counted as Project affected and the
few whose names have been included were sought to be dispensed off by
a pittance in cash. This report has raised the question of this
exclusion and emphasised that we have to be compensated by giving us
5 acres land per family as per the conditions of the Environmental
clearance."
In the Jan sammelan organised on the banks of the river Narmada,
Matamai of Pathrad said that we women have been at the fore of the
struggle against the Project that threatens our communities and our
children.Yet the government and the Project authorities have only
replied to our valid concerns and questions with the use of lathis
and violent repression. This report has been able to bring out the
repressive nature of the process.
Kalu bhai of Village Mardana said that it is clear to the people to
be affected by the Mahehswar Project and a matter of deep anxiety for
them that the submergence would be much larger than anticipated by
the authorities. In fact the authorities have deliberately minimised
and trivialised the extent of the submergence. The report has
highlighted this. Kalu bhai said that the struggle is now rapidly
moving towards victory.
A large number of elected people's representatives of the area from
the district, Janpad and village Panchayat levels were present for
the program. Kala bai , Vice Chairwoman of the Maheshwar Janpad read
out a resolution on behalf of the elected representatives calling
upon the Indian and state governments to scrap this unviable and
destructive Project, in the light of this report, and implement
cheaper and less destructive energy alternatives, such as pump
storage, biomass based generation, better energy saving appliances,
etc. This was enthusiastically endorsed by thousands of people
gathered on the occasion. Manish Chauhan from the LIC trade union at
Indore said that their unions would support the struggle of the
affected people and oppose the induction of funds from LIC, GIC and
IDBI into the privatized Maheshwar Project.
Alok Agarwal, leader of the movement said that this report has once
again confirmed the truth of the issues raised by the Andolan. It has
exposed the bankruptcy of the rehabilitation process of the Project
authorities. We have made significant progress in our struggle
against this destructive Project. The Project has not been able to
achieve financial closure for the last three years because of the
mass struggle. This report will help stop the Rs.530 crore loan from
the German bank. We are confident that we will be able to scrap this
destructive Project.
He said that the real challenge now before the people of the state
and the nation is not to let the nexus of multinational corporations,
private companies and politicians sell away our vast energy
infrastructure to private companies and reverse important social
policies such as subsidised energy to agriculture and to the poor.
Critising the proposed Energy Reform bill, 2000 of the government of
Madhya Pradesh, to be brought before the State Assembly during this
session, he said that "what we require are not guarantees for the
profits of multinationals but the guarantee of energy to every common
citizen of this country."
Chittaroopa Palit
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