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DAM-L Man Dam, Narmada, India
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Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2001 11:31:31 -0800 (PST)
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Subject: LS: ACTION ALERT: Man Dam, Narmada Valley
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Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2001 00:36:59 -0600 (CST)
From: Subramanya Sastry <subbu@narmada.org>
Dear all,
This mail is to inform you of the latest development in the Narmada Valley in
the fight against the Man Project. As you might be aware from our previous
editions of Narmada Samachar, the tribals of the Man project have been
fighting for land-for-land rehabilitation as provided for by the Madhya
Pradesh rehabilitation policy for the Narmada Valley Proejct.
We request to carefully read the action alert below and take action as you
deem fit (email/fax/phone/letters).
We have quickly put together a separate page devoted to the Man Project with a
project critique and press releases on the recent developments on the project.
Please visit: "http://www.narmada.org/nvdp.dams/man/index.html" for this
information.
In solidarity,
Friends of River Narmada.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Narmada Bachao Andolan
Jail Road, Mandleshwar,
District Khargone, Madhya Pradesh
Telefax: 07283-33162
E-mail: nobiogdam@vsnl.com
ACTION ALERT: 22nd March 2001
ABOUT 300 HUNDRED ADIVASIS AFFECTED BY THE MAN PROJECT WHO CAPTURED THE DAM
SITE ON 21st MARCH 2001, ARRESTED AND HELD IN DHAR JAIL.
1000 adivasi families affected by the Man Project, Narmada valley to be
drowned in cold blood
AN URGENT APPEAL TO INTERVENE
Dear friends,
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 adivasi 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.
Yesterday, early in the morning, about a thousand adivasis affected by the
Project stormed and occupied the dam site preventing any further
construction of the dam. The affected families declared that until the
State government completely rehabilitates all the affected families by
allotting them cultivable agricultural land as per the policy, work on the
dam would not be permitted. Representatives from the Sardar Sarovar and
Maheshwar projects on the Narmada were also present in the dharna.
Later on in the evening about 300 were arrested and brought to the Dhar
Jail. The police used considerable force to arrest the protestors and in
the process badly manhandled Anitha, Sunitha, Saida and Badhi besides
others. In fact, most of the young girls who were very vociferous in their
demands for justice were particularly ill-treated. It is a matter of shame
that among those who were forcibly lifted from the dam site include 52
children. On being brought to Dhar Jail the children were released
unconditionally and taken back in police vans to their respective villages.
Those arrested have been charged under Sections 151, 147, 294, 341 and 323.
The Man Project received the legally binding conditional environmental
clearance from the Central Environment Ministry in 1994. The condition of
the clearance was that the affected adivasis must be resettled with non-
forest cultivable agricultural land. The state government policy for the
affected people of the Narmada Projects that was made in 1987 and firmed in
1992 also required that the affected people must be resettled with the
policy of 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 compromised the rights
of the people with paltry amounts of cash compensation.
As a result, in 1994, 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 affected
adivasis 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 adivasis 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 Narmada Valley Development
Authority (NVDA), a government order of 30th January stopped the work on
the spillway section of the dam. The actual physical work had to be stopped
by the people, demonstrating 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 on the 20th
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 adivasis 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!
In the 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 Reconstruction and 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 the 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 one foot
a day. It is crucial that all work on the dam must immediately stop.
It is clear that the adivasis of this area need all your support to win
this struggle and to save the homes and lands of these 5000 adivasis from
sure submergence this monsoon. It is to raise these issues and compel the
government to stop all construction work until rehabilitation is completed
that the people captured the dam site. However, the State instead of
providing them agricultural land has resettled them in Dhar Jail!
Dear friends, the sense of urgency calls for your immediate intervention.
Please write protest letters asking for:
1. The immediate stoppage of the Project work and undertake
rehabilitation of the project-affected families by providing them
with agricultural land as per the policy.
2. Unconditional release of those arrested.
Write/Phone/Fax immediately to:
Shri Digvijay Singh, Dr. Rajesh Rajoria
Chief Minister, Collector
Madhya Pradesh District Dhar
Vallabh Bhavan, Madhya Pradesh.
Madhya Pradesh Fax:07292-34711
Fax:0755-540501 Phone:07292-34702
Phone:0755-540503
Shri Jaikrishnan,
Secretary,
Ministry of Environment and Forests,
Paryavaran Bhavan,
C.G.O.Complex,
Lodhi Road Institutional Area, New Delhi
Fax:011-4362746
Phone:011-4360721
In solidarity,
Alok Agarwal Gendalal Clifton D'
Rozario Govind Singrawat
Mangat Verma Gopal Jagadeesh
B.N. Deepak Yadav
CAMP: DHAR
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Dear Friends,
I hope you all have received the Action Alert on Man Project. There is a
small addition. Please write/phone/fax
Chairman, NABARD
Mumbai
Phone: 91-22-6530001/6539004
Fax : 91-22-6530002/6530003
The people are still in jail for the second day now. The latest development
is the additional charge under section 353 (non-bailable charge) being
slapped on 8 people including Chittaroopa Palit (Silvy), Bhuwansingh,
Sarpanch of village Khedi, Govindsinbh Ravat, village Khanpura, Bundriben
and 4 others.
We are camping in Dhar right now.
In Solidarity
Clifton
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