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DAM-L LS: Friends of Narmada "Supreme Court Judgment is anti-people" (fwd)
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subject: LS: Friends of Narmada "Supreme Court Judgment is anti-people"
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Friends of Narmada Press Release
October 19, 2000
Friends of River Narmada
http://www.narmada.org
Supreme Court judgment is anti-people
The Supreme Court of India verdict on the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) is
entirely against the interests and fundamental rights of the people in the
Narmada valley. It has virtually overturned all the achievements of the
herioc, non-violent struggle of the people in the valley spearheaded by the
Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA or Save the Narmada Movement).
Over the course of 15 years, the NBA has unearthed evidence that has laid
bare the inherently unjust design and planning process of SSP, conceived
and implemented without an iota of people's participation. It has exposed
the hollowness of the claims by the dam's proponents that SSP would quench
the thirst of drought-prone areas of Kutch and Saurashtra, by showing that
only 1.6% of Kutch and 9.24% of Saurashtra lie in the command area of SSP
and no water is expected to reach there till the year 2020. It has also
brought to light the colossal human and environmental costs of the project
evidenced by the displacement of nearly 320,000 people and the loss of
prime agricultural and forest land.
The World Bank which first gave the project credibility by advancing a $450
million loan, was forced by the NBA's massive campaign to institute an
unprecedented independent review commission, the Morse Commission. The
Morse Commission severely indicted the World Bank, vindicated all the major
concerns of the NBA and recommended that the Bank withdraw from the
project. Faced with growing international pressure, the World Bank was
forced to withdraw from the project.
Throughout the struggle, the different state governments and the Union of
India have displayed a singular lack of concern towards the welfare of the
poor and underprivileged people whose lives would be devastated by this
project. NBA's journey till date has been marked by grave and repeated
atrocities committed by the police and oppressive governments on
marginalized communities such as the adivasis (indigenous communities),
poor peasants and landless toilers, including their right to peaceably
assemble and protest. That the Supreme Court has chosen to ignore all this
evidence of duplicity and deviousness by the state, is a travesty of
justice and egalitarianism in a democratic society.
The judgement delivered on October 18, 2000, is remarkable for its naiveté
and sinister overtones. It expects the governments and the Narmada Control
Authority (NCA) to deliver a land acquisition and rehabilitation plan in
four weeks when they have not accomplished it in over 15 years! It expects
the state governments to properly address the grievances of the people when
the very same governments continue to oppress the people from often even
peacefully assembling! Further, the judgement while outlining how further
construction would occur, places the arbitration first directly or
indirectly in the hands of the project implementers namely the state
government, the NCA and finally the Prime Minister, instead of an
independent and unbiased entity; and in this way the court also appears to
wash off any further responsibility from itself.
NBA started its journey with a right to information campaign in the Narmada
valley, demanding details of the World Bank funded project, plans for the
affected people, etc. With no information forthcoming from the Governments,
NBA declared its opposition to the entire project taking into account the
scale of adverse impacts. Displaying a rare degree of spirit, tenacity and
courage the Andolan has led the people of the Narmada valley for over 15
years through various non-violent civil actions, sit-in's and hunger
strikes. They have faced the challenge thrown up by an insensitive and
oppressive government, thrown out the formidable World Bank, challenged the
abomination that the Sardar Sarovar dam is, braved the rising waters that
submerge the land, forests and livelihood of the people every year, and
have been a model and a source of inspiration for people's struggles
throughout the world. The Friend of River Narmada believe that this spirit
will also enable the Andolan to tide over this unfortunate judgement as well.
The Friends of River Narmada salutes the spirit of the people of the
Narmada valley and Narmada Bachao Andolan and stand in solidarity with them.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Friends of River Narmada is an international coalition of individuals
and organizations primarily of Indian descent involved in awareness and
solidarity campaigns along with the Save the Narmada Movement [Narmada
Bachao Andolan].
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