[Reader-list] People’s Tribunal in Narmada Valley shocked by non-compliance on rehabilitation

[SUNDARA BABU]

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From: <medha at narmada.org>



INDEPENDENT PEOPLE’S TRIBUNAL LED BY HON’BLE JUSTICE A.P. SHAH CONCLUDES
VISIT AND MASS-HEARING IN NARMADA VALLEY

TRIBUNAL SHOCKED BY GROSS NON-COMPLIANCE ON REHABILITATION OF SARDAR SAROVAR
AND OTHER PROJECT AFFECTED: REPORT RELEASE ON JUNE 23-24TH AT BHOPAL

An Independent People’s Tribunal (IPT) led by Hon’ble Justice (Retd.) A.P.
Shah (Retired Chief Justice, Delhi and Mumbai High Court), Dr. Devinder
Sharma
(International Researcher and Agriculture Policy Analyst) and Prof. Jaya
Sagade
(Faculty, Indian Law Society, Law College, Pune) concluded their two-day
visit
and mass public hearing in the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) affected region
in
Narmada valley today evening.

The Public Hearing was attended by about a thousand people, representing the
two-lakh displaced people by SSP alone in the three states of Madhya
Pradesh,
Maharashtra and Gujarat. Having heard the hundreds of people in their
villages
yesterday and at the hearing in Badwani today, the People’s Tribunal was
shocked to note as to how the Narmada Control Authority (NCA) and the
Narmada
Valley Development Authority (NVDA) can state that there are 0 families who
are
to receive rehabilitation, when in fact, in village after village, hundreds
of
people welcomed the Tribunal and demonstrated to them as to how the full
community life is on; with houses, panchayat bhavans, schools, temples,
masjids, trees etc.

The Panel of eminent persons was in the Narmada Valley as part of the
Independent People’s Tribunal on Environment and Human Rights, which is a
national network of over 500 judges, lawyers, human rights activists and
people’s organizations facilitating fair and independent investigations into
cases of gross human rights and environmental violations of
socio-economically
marginalized communities.

Amongst other things, some of the main Terms of Reference of the Panel was
to
hear the concerned parties (affected people, State, Narmada Andolan) and
make
its observations on:

•       Whether raising the height of the SSP dam beyond the present height
of
122 mts is consistent with law, policy and Supreme Court judgements, when
gross
non-compliance on the rehabilitation, environmental measures is established
and
the entire scenario of costs and benefits of the project is in doldrums?

•       Whether the canal-network of Indira Sagar and Omkareshwar canals
should
be reviewed to exclude the irrigated river-bank villages, minimize
displacement
and save the best of agricultural land and can the land acquisition and
excavation of canals proceed any further without the full plans, complete
data
and guaranteeing full rehabilitation?

Panel visits SSP-affected villages in Nimad: Paper Rehabilitation exposed
Beginning its visit since early morning yesterday, the Tribunal visited the
canal-affected villages of Pandhania (Dharampuri Tehsil) and Mandil (Rajpur
Tehsil) where the Justice Shah and other panel members saw for themselves
the
cruel juxtaposition of the prime irrigated lands and also huge portion of
lands
excavated and destroyed. The people requested the Tribunal to opine as to
why
their well-irrigated lands in the river-bank villages should be destroyed
for
the sake of the massive canal network? They also brought to the Panel’s
notice the numerous illegalities in the process of land acquisition such as
forced signatures on ‘consent letters’ and appealed that the Madhya Pradesh
Government has a constitutional duty to save their best agricultural land
and
minimize displacement, which is also the mandate of the National
Rehabilitation
policy and the directive of the Hon’ble M.P. High Court. The canal-outsets
also demanded that the full applicability of the Rehabilitation Policy.

After being welcomed at Anjad, the Panel moved into the Sardar Sarovar
submergence affected villages of Pipri where it saw the full community life
in
swing, while not even a handul of families have shifted to the R&R site for
village Pipri. The falsity and claims of ‘rehabilitation’ were clear before
the members of the Tribunal. Shantabehen and Sajjanjiji narrated the history
of
violations at Pipri village and asserted that they shall part with their
loves,
but not with their lands.  In the adivasi village of Pichhodi, hundreds of
women and men demonstrated to Justice Shah and others as to how they were
betrayed again and again and the State miserably and deliberately failed in
purchasing and providing cultivable, irrigable and suitable agricultural
land
(with house plots) to the PAFs who have been affected from 90 mts.  In
virtually every village, people, led by the women, questioned with anger and
pain, “We are agriculturist and nature-based communities. A few thousand
rupees cannot feed our families and sustain our livelihood for a lifetime
nor
can it kill our entire-river valley culture. When the State cannot give us
land
and livelihood, it has no right to displace and submerge us”.

Welcoming the Tribunal with ‘Mashaal Juloos’, hundreds of people in
Chilakda village, which is affected at 95 mts exposed the fake claims of
rehabilitation and pointed out as to how corruption has crept into the
entire
R&R process with at least 2,000 fake registries unearthed and crores of
rupees
wasted due to corruption in allotment of house plots and livelihood grants
and
payment of compensation to ineligible persona and properties etc.  When
people
are punished for even a single comment on any judge or judgement, how and
why
is the State, which has been committing gross contempt of the Supreme Court’
judgements not punished? Are the Courts not concerned about contempt of
their
judgments when it concerns the rights of thousands and thousands of
marginalized people, questioned Bhagirath of Chikalda. The Tribunal received
similar response in villages such as Khaparkheda, Kadmal, Nisarpur etc.
where
the people asserted that the M.P. Government is ready to submerge the
people,
without land, without rehabilitation.

Hundreds of displaced depose before Tribunal in Badwani: Demand land and
livelihood

Hundreds of persons affected by the Sardar Sarovar Project including the
hilly
adivasis from Alirajpur and Bhadal who have lost their lands since early
90s,
but have not been guaranteed land and livelihood based rehabilitation.,
farmers
of Nimad who have a right to agricultural land and house plots, but have
been
betrayed by the state government due to the massive corruption of crores of
rupees and fish workers and potters whose only source of livelihood is the
river and river bank land deposed before the Tribunal, pouring out their
woes
and seeking implementation of the Tribunal Award, Rehabilitation policy and
the
Court’s judgements.

“The State has always pushed the dam ahead, by cheating us with false
promises and looting us with fake assurances of rehabilitation”, stated Bava
Mahariya. After all these years, the Madhya Pradesh Government has not
exhibited the political will to purchase and offer a single inch of private
agricultural land and establish rehabilitation villages while it has
thousands
of acres of land for SEZs, companies and religious institutions, he said”.

Noorji Padvi and many other adivasis from the submergence-affected villages
of
Maharashtra also deposed before the Tribunal today and asserted that there
are
still hundreds of families in the state awaiting rehabilitation, while
corruption in the land purchases is only on the rise.

Adivasis and farmers affected by the Indira Sagar and Omkareshwar canals who
are already living with good agriculture in the irrigated river-bank
villages,
their lands being destroyed due to the massive canals also deposed before
the
Tribunal and strongly demanded that their agricultural lands must be saved,
at
any cost. Adivasis affected by Jobat Project in Alirajpur district also
presented their case before the Tribunal and sought full rehabilitation as
per
the Policy.

Along with the people, activists also deposed and brought to the Panel’s
notice other pressing issues such as gross non-compliance on various
environmental measures and asked as to why the dam and canal works should
not
be stopped, as recommended by the Devender Pandey Expert Committee. Rohan
from
Kalpvriksh, Pune Rehmat from Mathan Adhyayan Kendra, Badwani and Vimalbhai
from
Matu Jan Sanghathan, Delhi presented the poor state of environmental
compliance
in Narmada and other large dams and stated the issue of environmental
impacts,
as a critical issue linked with people’s lives must be fully considered by
the Tribunal.

When the Project has failed to deliver the promised benefits of irrigation,
drinking water and power at the present height, why not freeze the dam at
the
present height? How and why should the communities in the Narmada valley
face
further submergence, people questioned. At the end of the hearing, it became
amply clear to the Tribunal that the whole process of R&R has been derailed
and
corrupted due the encashment. If anyone has benefitted, it is the officials
and
the touts and not the people.

The Tribunal also received hundreds of individual applications from the dam
and
canal oustees who stated their grievances of poor to nil rehabilitation.
Despite the officials of NCA and NVDA having been invited in advance, it is
unfortunate that none of the officials from either of the Authorities
deposed
before the Tribunal. This once again, re-affirms people’s position that
neither does the State have answers to their questions nor and to offer in
rehabilitation.

Having visited the villages and heard the people, the Tribunal members
expressed their pain and shock at gross non-compliance on various
rehabilitation and environmental measures and stated that they will very
shortly bring out their Report on the reality of rehabilitation in the
Narmada
valley vis-à-vis the provision and promises in the Narmada Tribunal Award,
Rehabilitation Policy, Supreme Court’s Judgements and Action Plans.
The Tribunal shall release its Report on 23rd – 24th June, 2010 at Bhopal.
Advocate Shubhra and Advocate Mohsin from the Indian / Independent People’s
Tribunal facilitated the hearing.

Contact Nos:
Ph: 9179148973 / 07290-222464 / 9009106297