[Reader-list] Tipaimukh Dam Must be Scrapped

[Naeem Mohaiemen]

The Citizens Concern for Dams and Development (CCDD), Committee on
Land and Natural Resources (COLNAR), Action Committee Against
Tipaimukh Dam (ACTIP)

Press Release

30 July 2009, Northeast

TIPAIMUKH DAM MUST BE SCRAPPED

The Citizens Concern for Dams and Development (CCDD), Committee on
Land and Natural Resources (COLNAR), Action Committee Against
Tipaimukh Dam (ACTIP) would like to express our reaffirmation that the
Tipaimukh Dam should not be constructed without the free prior and
informed consent of the indigenous peoples of all affected peoples in
Manipur, Mizoram, Assam and further down in Bangladesh along the Barak
River.

CCDD, COLNAR and ACTIP would also like to express our condemnation to
the environmental clearance accorded by the Ministry of Environment
and Forest of the Government of India in end 2008 despite affected
peoples vehement opposition to the public hearings on the proposed dam
and also to the construction of Tipaimukh dam. The clearance despite
the absence of a holistic and detailed impact assessment with due
rightful participation of affected peoples construes disrespect to the
indigenous peoples call for respect of peoples’ rights over their land
and resources.

The Tipaimukh dam to be built over Barak River, an international
river, is now resisted from not all sides, upstream and downstream and
the only supporter remains the government of India and the state of
Manipur. The continuing and ongoing resistance against Tipaimukh dam,
including the mass anti-dam mobilization in Bangladesh and the recent
resolution against the dam in the Barak valley in Assam resolutely
demands abandonment of the dam. Only a despot or a dictatorial
government will continue with forceful implementation in defiance to
peoples call for respect of their rights and justice.

CCDD, COLNAR and ACTIP will continue to fight against forceful damming
of Barak river, we will defend against forceful dislocation of our
peoples, resist any attempt to disregard and sacrilege our culture,
economy and identity. In the past we have made it clear that our land
and environment is crucial for the survival of civilizations that has
grown with the river. Whether in the downstream or upstream, lives of
all forms, the ecosystem, the economy, culture that has evolved with
this river are critically going to be affected by this huge dam. Any
form of compensation, compensatory forestation or other ‘benefits’
cannot replace what has evolved over generations.

We are also keenly aware that this dam has already caused conflicts
and misunderstandings between upstream and downstream, between India
and Bangladesh, between communities and to an extent fracture within
communities. The government is to be squarely blamed for these
consequences.

Issues of downstream impact of dams are well known. Completely
ignoring such impacts and overlooking those who live in the downstream
of Barak river has now catapulted. As the people of Bangladesh, the
communities living downstream of this imposed dam have every right to
demand scrapping of this dam. Similar to the treatment to upstream
communities, it is clear that the government and the dam authorities
have complete disrespect of the rights and dignity of those who live
downstream. The dam if built will stand to represent an example of a
repressive development.

The Government of Manipur appreciably in the past have twice passed in
the Assembly resolving that they will not allow the dam. But
undemocratic processes that rules Manipur have led to the signing of
MOU with NEEPCO, and now with NHPC without explaining to the people
what these MOUs are, how they have passed and how they have changed
their position since Assembly resolution in 1995 and 1997.  We urge
the government to change its course on this dam.

On the visit of the Parliamentary Committee from Bangladesh, we
definitely welcome them as representative of our neighbor if they are
to come seeking to know more about the dam. However, we would
respectfully urge them to desist from any unilateral agreement with
India. By agreeing to this dam, impacts on the downstream in
Bangladesh or in Assam nor in Manipur or Mizoram will go. We will
continue to work with our friends living in downstream to stop this
dam from coming up.

Finally, it is made known here that we will line up a series of events
if this dam is not being scrapped immediately.