[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
DAM-L LS: URGENT Appeal on Man Project in India (fwd)
----- Forwarded message from owner-irn-action@netvista.net -----
Return-path: <owner-irn-action@netvista.net>
Received: from DaVinci.NetVista.net (mjdomo@mail.netvista.net [206.170.46.10])
by lox.sandelman.ottawa.on.ca (8.8.7/8.8.8) with ESMTP id PAA16616
for <dianne@sandelman.ottawa.on.ca>; Thu, 22 Feb 2001 15:47:00 -0500 (EST)
From: owner-irn-action@netvista.net
Received: [(from mjdomo@localhost)
by DaVinci.NetVista.net (8.10.0/8.8.8) id f1MKZFt08944
for irn-action-list; Thu, 22 Feb 2001 12:35:15 -0800 (PST)
(envelope-from owner-irn-action@netvista.net)]
Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2001 12:35:15 -0800 (PST)
Message-ID: <200102222035.f1MKZFt08944@DaVinci.NetVista.net>
Subject: LS: URGENT Appeal on Man Project in India
Sender: owner-irn-action@netvista.net
Precedence: bulk
Narmada Bachao Andolan
Jail Road, Mandleshwar, District Khargone, Madhya Pradesh Telefax: 07283-33162
E-mail : nobiogdam@vsnl.com
______________________________________________________
1000 Tribal families affected by the Man Project, Narmada valley to be
drowned in cold blood
AN URGENT APPEAL TO INTERVENE
Dear friends,
Since the last few weeks you may have received some information about the
grim situation building up in the Man Project submergence zone. The Man
Project is one of the 30 large dams being built in the Narmada valley and
is situated in the Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh. This Project will
submerge over 1000 Bhil and Bhilala tribal families in 17 villages affected
by the Project and their rich and fertile lands, deep black cotton soils
irrigated with water from wells and the river.
It may be noted that the Man Project received the legally binding
environmental clearance from the Central Environment Ministry in 1994. The
condition of the clearance was that the affected tribals must be resettled
with non- forest agricultural land. The state government policy for the
oustees of the Narmada Projects that was made in 1987 and firmed in 1992
also required that the affected people must be resettled with land for
land. Despite this from 1991 to 1994, the state government completely
violated the conditions of the environmental clearance and the provisions
of its own policy and finished the rights of the people with paltry amounts
of cash compensation.
As a result, in 1984, the Appraisal Committee of the Central Environment
Ministry blacklisted the Man Project for complete violation of the
conditions of the environmental clearance. In 1997, when the oustees were
given eviction notices, they organized themselves under the aegis of the
Narmada Bachao Andolan and raised their voices. After a long struggle, in
April May 1999, the Madhya Pradesh government agreed to constitute a
committee for the rehabilitation of the affected people. This committee
which was constituted under the chairmanship of the Narmada Minister of
Madhya Pradesh comprised of the affected people, elected representatives,
government officials and two members of the Narmada Bachao Andolan. The
government order of 2nd May, 1999 that constituted this committee clearly
stated that no construction work on the dam would be allowed to be carried
out that would endanger any affected person whose rehabilitation had not
been completed. But despite this clear order, from October, 2000 onwards
the state government began work on the spillway section of the dam ,thus
creating a situation of imminent submergence of hundreds of tribal families
who are yet to be rehabilitated . The Man affected tribals then took out a
protest rally in Dhar on the 24th of January this year demanding immediate
stoppage of work and rehabilitation of the affected people . Subsequently
after representations to the NVDA , a government order of 30th January
stopped the work on the spillway section of the dam .The actual physical
work had to stopped by demonstrating people at the dam site demanding that
the order be carried out.
But on the initiative of the Chief Minister Shri Digvijay Singh , as per
public statement given by local Congress MLA Shri Karan Singh Pawar, the
work was again restarted on the 9th of February, 2001. On the 9th, police
people from two police stations came to the villages of Khedi Balwadi and
Khanpura to threaten the people and tell them to leave their villages.
However the people of these two villages, especially the women confronted
the police and finally speechless, the police had to flee.
Subsequently, on the 11th of February, fifty trucks of police came to the
dam site presumably to stop any take over of the dam by the local people,
but actually to let the affected people know that their struggle would be
met by state repression.
The representatives of the 17 villages along with the NBA activists met and
petitioned Menaka Gandhi, Minister of Social Welfare, Secretary, Ministry
of Environment and Forests and the Chairman, Commission for Scheduled
Tribes and Scheduled Castes on the 12th and 13th of February.
As a result, the state government was forced to hold a meeting today, on
the 20th of February , 2001.The officials conceded during the meeting and
that through a written document that “If the dam construction proceeds as
per plan, the crest level 286.10m will be achieved by the monsoon of 2001.
At this height, at the maximum water flow of 10.00 cumecs along with
backwater effect, 993 families will be affected. Of this 283 families have
already vacated the submergence area and 710 families are yet to vacate the
submergence area.
Of this the houses of 522 families are likely to be submerged. It is
possible that another 222 families will vacate the submergence area before
the monsoons and it is being proposed that an emergency plan be prepared
for the rest of the families.
As per the proposed Emergency plan two temporary camps are proposed to be
set up . The location of this will be decided under the guidance of the
people’s representatives and the District administration. Arrangements will
be made for the residence, health, security and food. It is estimated that
as per the length of the monsoon season , the camp will need to be held for
two months. The affected people who will come to these camps will be given
half the amount of daily wages that accrue to a unskilled labourer (as per
the District administration’s rates) for meeting his daily needs, in
addition to food.” (Government document , February, 2001)
Thus, although the lands and homes around 5000 tribals will be drowned
permanently this monsoon itself, the government has no plan for them except
a temporary camp where they will be offered food and half the minimum wages
for unskilled laborers for two months!
At today’s meeting, the 12 villagers and the four NBA activists who
attended argued for the work on the spillway section of the dam to be
immediately stopped and for the distribution of agricultural lands, the
NVDA officials argued that the dam must be completed by June, 2001.They
said that the NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development)
credit for this dam require that the dam be constructed by June, 2001.
Callously enough, they argued that the livelihoods of the affected people
do not need to be restored and that cash compensation was enough.
Thus at the end of today’s meeting, the Committee did not agree to stop the
work on the dam nor give the affected people agricultural lands. In fact,
the Narmada Minister Shri Subhash Yadav stated that they would amend the
provision of the rehabilitation policy that provided for land for land, so
that they would not be required to give lands to the people!
The NBA activists pointed out that even if the state government were to
amend the state rehabilitation policy, they could hardly amend the
conditions under which the Ministry of Environment clearance was given to
the Project.
Thus, the government has decided to carry on the construction and drown out
the people. The people of the Man project area have resolved to stop the
Project through non- violent but militant struggle. But the reality is that
the spillway section of the dam is being plugged in at the rate of a foot a
day. It is crucial that all work on the dam must immediately stop.
It is clear that the tribals of this area need all your support to win this
struggle and to save the homes and lands of these 5000 tribals from sure
submergence this monsoon.
We are organizing a march through the area from the 2nd to 4th February,
2001.We hope you will be able to join us during those days. Please contact
us at the telephone number or e-mail address given in the letter head.
Protest letters:
Please write protest letters asking for the immediate stoppage of the
construction work and look into the rehabilitation of the already affected
to the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.
Shri Digvijay Singh,
Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh
Vallabh Bhavan , Madhya Pradesh
Fax no.: 0755-540 501
Please write to the Environment Minister about the flagrant violations of
environmental clearance and to revoke the clearance immediately.
Shri T.R.Balu,
Union Minister,
Ministry of Environment and Forests,
Paryavaran Bhavan, C.G.O.Complex,
Lodhi Road Institutional Area,
New Delhi
Ph: 011-436 1748 / 436 1727
Fax :
Your letters to NABARD, asking them to immediately stop funding the project
and not be a part of the destruction of the valley and devastation of the
tribals, will also help a lot.
The Managing Director
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development
First Floor, Sterling Centre
Dr.A.B. Road, Worli
Mumbai 400 018
Telephone : 496 4396-99, 8879834 / 38, 4981216
Fax : 493 1621, 4951104
Telex : 11 73770 NAB IN
Cable : AGREFINANS (Mumbai)
Please send us a copy of your letters to the Ministers / authorities.
Looking forward for your continuous support.
In solidarity,
Alok Agarwal Bhuwan Singh Bondribai Mantribai Gendalal
Khedi Balwadi Village Khanpura Village
Rehtiaon
------------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe from this list, send a message to majordomo@netvista.net
with no subject and the following text in the body of the message
"unsubscribe irn-action".
----- End of forwarded message from owner-irn-action@netvista.net -----