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DAM-L LS: Indian High Commissioner to UK Concerned about Narmada Oustees (fwd)
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subject: LS: Indian High Commissioner to UK Concerned about Narmada Oustees
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PRESS NOTE
24th November 2000, Oxford (UK)
For Immediate Release
INDIAN HIGH COMMISSIONER EXPRESSES CONCERN FOR NARMADA DAM OUSTEES
The Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom today expressed his
concern to supporters of the Narmada Bachao Andolan ('Save Narmada Movement
') over the likely fate of the oustees of the controversial Sardar Sarovar
dam being built in Gujarat state, India. His concern follows the recent
release in London by Nelson Mandela of the World Commission on Dams report
[1], which draws attention to the severe environmental impacts of many dams,
the unacceptably high cost imposed on those displaced by dams, and the
failure of many dams to provide the benefits used to justify their
construction.
High Commissioner Naresh Dayal was speaking at Balliol College, Oxford
University on the topic of 'India today'. He spoke of the importance of
maintaining India democracy, of the value of consensual politics and of the
independence of the judiciary. He also spoke of the need for India to work
to reduce the inequality between rich and poor.
Following his talk, the High Commissioner was asked by a graduate student of
philosophy at the university and supporter of the Narmada Bachao Andolan,
how these values could be reconciled with the recent Supreme Court verdict.
The verdict, by a majority of two to one, allows construction of the Sardar
Sarovar dam to continue after a five year stay. In particular, it was asked
how consensual politics could be assured when the orders of the verdict
prevent any appeal by people affected by large development projects in the
future, if states have already agreed amongst them selves that such projects
may go ahead, and when future appeals are required to be submitted before
projects are begin despite the fact that the affected usually do not even
find out about the proposed project before it has begun, as was the case in
the Narmada Valley.
Initially the High Commissioner felt that the project was justified as it
would not cause any environmental problems and because 'the majority wanted
it'. However, when it was pointed out to him that both the World Bank [2]
and the minority judgement of Justice Barucha had said that there would be
massive environmental impacts, and that in any case a comprehensive
Environmental Impact Assessment had never been done (despite being required
by Indian law), he accepted that there may be a problem. He also expressed
concern that democracy and consensual politics may not have been followed as
the people to be affected by the project were never consulted about it
before or during the construction of the dam. 'How can a project claim to be
democratic if those affected by it are not even asked their opinion?' the
supporter asked.
In the informal discussion that followed, the High Commissioner was keen to
continue the discussion about Narmada with the NBA supporters present at his
talk, since, as he said, it is regarded as 'a very hot topic in India at the
moment'. He agreed without reservation that it was unacceptable for one
group of people to be forced to make a sacrifice for what he termed 'the
greater common good' without their consent. However, he felt that all the
oustees would be adequately rehabilitated and would not therefore suffer as
a result of displacement. He seemed unaware however of the reality of
'resettlement' and was genuinely concerned when it was explained to him that
in fact there is almost no cultivable land for resettlement and that almost
all of the displaced can look forward to a life of poverty. As the Chief
Minister of Madhya Pradesh and the independent Grievance Redressal
Authorities, in particular Justice Sahoni of Madhya Pradesh (ordered by the
Supreme Court to look into the availability of land) have themselves
reported, there simply isn't enough land available to resettle even a
fraction of the oustees, and much of that which is available is either
barren or rocky, or prone to waterlogging. One NBA supporter also said that
he had seen for himself the unavailability of land, and he was absolutely
certain that resettlement was impossible.
The High Commissioner agreed that this situation was unacceptable and took
the further point that the Narmada Control Authority which, prior to the
stay on construction had dismally failed to ensure proper resettlement for
the displaced, was probably unlikely to do so in the future. However, he
expressed faith that the 'continued agitation' (of the Narmada Bachao
Andolan) would ensure that the rights of the displaced are respected. The
NBA however is committed to nonviolent struggle (as its slogan says, 'We
will drown and not move') and therefore can only ensure that the rights of
the displaced are respected if those with the power agree to take note of
the issues raised by them, and set up a tribunal whereby those affected by
the dam can have a say in the implementation of the project. The NBA will
certainly do everything it can within the bounds of nonviolent struggle to
ensure justice, but justice will only come if those with political and
coercive power act upon their concerns.
At one point the High Commissioner had suggested that 'we will just have to
wait and see what happens'. He eventually agreed that this approach was
unacceptable - you can't just take a gamble with four hundred thousand
lives - and asked the students to put their concerns in writing as he wished
to know more about the issues than he currently did about the case. He also
took two copies of the Narmada Bachao Andolan's recently produced
information booklet 'People vs Verdict' and several copies of their bulletin
'The peoples of Narmada Valley pass their verdict on the Supreme Court's
unjust decision'.
The High Commissioner also promised that he would pass on these concerns to
the President of India, who has the power to intervene in the case, as the
project affects the rights of tribal peoples.
Whilst expressing overall satisfaction with the discussion, one student
commented, 'Mr. Dayal was clearly unaware of just how harmful to both the
four hundred thousand people affected by the project, and indeed how
harmful its
precedent is to Indian democracy in general. Hopefully our discussions have
gone some way to rectifying that, but it remains to be seen whether he and
his colleagues in Delhi will have the political courage to act on the truth
and to ensure that the constitution and the rights of the people of the
valley are upheld. In the meantime, the Narmada Bachao Andolan in India will
continue its nonviolent struggle for justice and the hundreds of citizens
around the world that agree with its stand will continue to show their
solidarity with the movement.'
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Oxford Campaign Against Big Dams
Email: nobigdam@email.com
Telephone: UK + (0)1865 271 000 ext.21659
Narmada Bachao Andolan
Email: medhapatkar@vsnl.com
Website: http://www.narmada.org/
REFERENCES
[1] World Commission on Dams, Dams and Development, 2000 - available online
at www.damsreport.org , see also www.dams.org
[2] Morse, Bradford, Sardar Sarovar: The Report of the Independent Review,
1992
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