From: Initiative India <initiativeindia@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, Apr 18, 2010 at 7:06 PM
Subject: [initiative-india] "Plan for land-based rehabilitation, not for dam" demand Narmada displaced
To:
For Immediate Release Indore, 18th April, 2010
"Plan for land-based rehabilitation, not for dam" demand Narmada displaced
Face to Face with NVDA Vice Chairperson tomorrow: Dharna continues:
On the eve of completion of one whole week since two thousand adivasis, farmers and fish workers left their homes in the Narmada Valley to embark on a Jeevan Adhikar Yatra and reach Indore to challenge the Narmada Control Authority as to why it is not using its 'authority' to 'control' the state governments and project authorities of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat, the senior officials of the NCA had to sit down for 5 hours on a Sunday to listen in to the woes and wants of the people who have faced submergence and deprivation due to the Sardar Sarovar Project since years.
People challenged the NCA as to how it could permit the dam to go upto 122mts when the rehabilitation of thousands of PAFs as per law is pending for even below 122 mts. Land for land for all PAFs, beginning with those adivasis whose hearths and lands have submerged since 1994 and are affected even at 80 mts is a non-negotiable aspect of the dialogue, people asserted. After prolonged assertion, NCA had to accept that the figures of PAFs are not yet final and that PAFs even at 80 mts have not been rehabilitated. It was also demanded that all the grievances such as unjust submergence and displacement without land acquisition, PAFs declared but yet to be rehabilitated etc. must be immediately resolved. When village after village is full of community life and none of the civic amenities, even the government departments have not been relocated, how can NCA blindly and mutely nod to the NVDA's fraudulent 'paper rehabilitation' that everything and everyone is 'shifted' and, therefore, give a green signal to the dam, the PAFs questioned in one voice. The NCA also had to admit that full compliance on various environmental safeguard measures has not yet happened nor has the submergence due to the tributaries been assessed fully.
Challenging the officials present including the Shri V.K. Jyoti, Executive Member and Shri Afroz Ahmed, Director (Rehabilitation) for their apparent lack of meticulousness in planning the faithful rehabilitation of these nature-based communities, Medha Patkar questioned, "Had it in your own case, would you not have thought and planned of ten different things such as your perks, emoluments, better standard of living etc, before switching over to a new job? Why then is this seriousness simply lacking when it comes to the people"?
Expressing their angst at the awful quality of land in the land banks that is being offered as "agricultural land", and the absolute lack of monitoring by the NCA, the PAFs confronted the officials and got them to admit that they (NCA) will soon get the quality of lands in the land bank checked. While all this was repeatedly brought to the notice of the authorities and Courts and despite the senior officials themselves coming to the High Court at Jabalpur regularly, it was painfully shocking to the Andolan to observe that the officials were not even aware of a significant portion of the data and submissions. Questioning NCA's feeble intervention in the entire case on corruption which went on for two full years before the High Court, farmers from Nimad questioned as to why the NCA has not taken any pro-active action, despite the clear decision in the 63rd R&R Sub Group that all families cheated through the Special Rehabilitation Package must be ensured agricultural land.
Madubhai Machaura from village Chikalda demanded that the fish workers have the first natural and legal right to fisheries in the reservoir and their co-oeperatives must be recognized and granted rights as against the large corporations to which the Director (Rehabilitation) did accept that the issue of right to fish workers is being seriously considered within the R&R Sub Group and shortly a decision on the rights of fish workers to fisheries in the reservoir would be taken. It was also demanded that the river-bed cultivators, many of them who are encroachers before 1987 and eligible as per the R&R Policy should also be granted the right to land. Pushpa Behan from village Nisarpur representing the potters whose only livelihood has been lost due to the Project asserted the right of all potter families to land by the river. "These issues would be discussed within NCA and a decision taken soon", Mr. Ahmed assured.
The PAFs from the vasahats of Gujarat submitted applications and explained to the officials as to how many of them had to switch over to wage labour, from agriculture since the lands given to them was of such a bad quality. "Where is the promise of 'better standard of living', when in fact people's lives and livelihoods are ruined", questioned an angry Raijikaka. The PAFs also exposed the hoax of irrigation and civic amenities at the vasahats and demanded that the officials must visit the sites. Admitting the problems, Mr. Ahmed assured that some responsible officials of the Authority would shortly visit the vasahats to make an assessment of the situation of rehabilitation of the PAFs and initiate appropriate action accordingly.
PAFs from Maharashtra also demanded that the issue of corruption in the private land purchase must be immediately addressed by the NCA and the concerned guilty officials who have already been suspended, but wrongly reinstated, be dismissed. Scoffing at the 'three-generations' principle of the State, Punya Daya challenged that no can one dare remove the people of Narmada from their homes and lands who have been living for more than 300 generations. Maharashtra should resume purchasing good agricultural lands to rehabilitate hundreds of PAFs in the original villages and at the R&R sites, Noorji Padvi demanded.
On the issue of canal-affected lands and families, the Andolan has already exposed before the Court and also brought to notice of the Authority the 'Game of Numbers' which the NVDA has played by providing varying data and figures to the High Court, Supreme Court and NCA. The canal-affected families demanded NCA to take a clear position on whether or not it thinks the state rehabilitation policy is applicable to the CAFs and asserted that it must make its position known to the High court through an Affidavit before the 20th.
The adivasis from Jobat demanded that the NCA must seek a response from the Ministry of Environment and Forests on the issue of monitoring and supervision of the Project, to which Mr. Ahmed said that a response is being sought from the Special Secretary, MoEF and the opinion would be shortly conveyed to the Andolan.
As the intense dialogue goes on in the corridors of the NCA, supporters are carrying the message of the struggle all over. Another poster exhibition is being organized today evening at Meghdoot Garden, Vijaynagar where interactions with the colony people is also being facilitated. Two films; 'Development at the Barrel of the Gun' and 'Road to Shangai via Mumbai' will be screened tonight by the Indore Solidarity Group.
The people are determined to continue with their infinite action until resolution of all their issues….
Gauribbehan Teekambhai Gemtya Noju Singa Padvi Rehmat
(Pichhodi) (Jatpur) (Bhadal) (Danel)
Contact Nos: 09424076624 / 0917918973 / 09893278855/ 09425311547
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Palash Biswas
Pl Read:
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