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DAM-L LS: Berne Declaration Letter on Narmada (fwd)
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Date: Thu, 19 Oct 2000 13:16:22 -0700 (PDT)
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subject: LS: Berne Declaration Letter on Narmada
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Mr. Balakrishnan, Ambassador
Embassy of India
Kirchenfeldstrasse 28
3005 Berne, Switzerland
19 October 2000
Supreme Court Decision on Sardar Sarovar Project
Dear Sir:
The Berne Declaration is a public-interest organization with 16,000
members and has supported more equitable North-South relations for
more than thirty years. At many instances - such as the quest for
Swiss bank documents on the Bofors case, the fight against the
illicit Basmati patents, or the struggle for more equitable
international trade agreements - the BD has supported the concerns of
the Indian government and society. It has also had the pleasure to
work with Arundhati Roy, Amitav Ghosh and other artists from India at
many occasions.
We must now inform you that we are absolutely shocked to learn about
the Supreme Court decision of 18 October on the Sardar Sarovar
project. The Court has allowed the construction of the dam from 88 up
to 90 meters immediately, and up to 138 meters in further stages.
As the Narmada Bachao Andolan documented in all detail, the Sardar
Sarovar project will not achieve ist purported benefits. Many
alternatives which are based on the local knowledge and initiatives
would be available. The necessary environmental studies have never
been done. And the proper rehabilitation of the hundreds of thousands
of people who would lose their livelihoods to the project is
impossible. According to the Court decision, the project authorities
are now to prepare a resettlement and rehabilitation plan for the
200,000 people affected by the reservoir within four weeks. Yet such
a plan was to be prepared by 1981 already. The authorities have never
been able to accomplish this, and the people who have been displaced
by the project so far were never properly rehabilitated. Further, we
understand that the Court decision does not even bother to consider
the fate of the more than 100,000 people affected by the project
canals.
The Narmada Bachao Andolan states that the Supreme Court decision
“violates the Constitution of India and of democratic governance”. We
must also point out that the decision violates all international
standards and good practices of developing energy and water projects.
According to UN conventions (such as those on indigenous peoples),
World Bank policies and UNEP guidelines, and the evolving consensus
of the World Commission on Dams, needs and options must be analyzed
in a fair and participatory way, affected people and particularly
indigenous peoples must have full rights to participate in all
decision making, and if a project goes ahead, displaced people must
be fully compensated and rehabilitated. The Supreme Court decision
flies in the face of all these internationally accepted standards. We
must again express our shock and dismay at this outdated and
internationally discredited approach to water management, and we will
support the Narmada Bachao Andolan in its continued resistance
against the Sardar Sarovar project.
The NBA has called on the President of India to intervene immediately
to protect the rights of the Adivasi people affected by the project
under his constitutional obligation. The Berne Declaration supports
this call. We ask you to inform the Indian authorities about our
sentiments and our determination. Thank you.
Sincerely yours,
Dr. Peter Bosshard
Berne Declaration
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