— Photo: AP

CONTINUING FAST: Medha Patkar's supporters arguing with Minister for Water Resources Saifuddin Soz (second from left) who visited the Narmada Bachao Andolan leader in New Delhi. She refused to take the juice offered by Mr. Soz to break the fast which entered the sixth day on Monday. Two other Ministers also failed to persuade her.

NEW DELHI: Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar and two others, who are on a fast here, on Monday rejected appeals from Union Ministers, including Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Prithviraj Chauhan, to call off their agitation. The fast is in protest against raising the height of the Narmada dam in Gujarat.

On the sixth day of the fast, Ms. Patkar, Bhagwatibehn and Jamsingh Nargave on Monday rejected the offer of juice to break their fast from Water Resources Minister Saifuddin Soz, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Meira Kumar and Mr. Chauhan who represented Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Last Saturday, Dr. Singh had assured Ms. Patkar after a meeting that he would convene a meeting of the concerned Ministers and get back to them. When there was no word from the Prime Minister by Tuesday, Ms. Patkar and others went on indefinite fast. Monday's visit by the Ministers was the first response of the Government since then.

Speaking to The Hindu Mr. Soz said he told the displaced families that the Madhya Pradesh Government had give "some credible guarantee" on rehabilitation of the displaced families before monsoon. He was, however, non-committal on the issue of convening a meeting of the Review Committee of the Narmada Control Authority, which he chairs.

Looking frail and weak, Ms. Patkar told the Ministerial team that the indefinite fast would continue till the construction of the Narmada dam in Gujarat was halted and a full review of the project and the rehabilitation situation on the ground was conducted. According to reports, the Gujarat Government has already raised the height of the dam from 110.64 metres to about 113 metres. The Narmada Control Authority permission is to take it to 121.92 metres.

Ms. Patkar handed over to Mr. Chauhan a report by Yashda, a Monitoring and Evaluation Agency set up by the Maharashtra Government to assess the status of the resettlement and rehabilitation of the project affected people (PAP) in the State. In its interim report submitted on February 14, 2006, Yashda has stated that: "a considerable number of PAPs affected upto reservoir level 121.92 metres with its backwater effect upto 136 metres have not yet been rehabilitated and they do not appear in the lists made available to the monitoring and evaluating investigators."

"Systemic failure"

Noting that there had been "enormous systemic failure" with regard to rehabilitation of project-affected families in Maharashtra, the report advises the Government of Maharashtra to "retract from its current position" on displaced families.

According to NBA more than 35,000 dam-affected families remain to be rehabilitated in the riparian States of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat at that height. As per the tribunal award and Supreme Court orders the displaced families should be resettled at least six months in advance of raising the dam height.

They rebutted the claim of the Madhya Pradesh Government on rehabilitation saying that they did not believe the "guarantees" of the Madhya Pradesh Government who continue to treat their own people with contempt.

According to the NBA, on one hand the Government agrees that rehabilitation is not in accordance with the tribunal award and Supreme Court orders, on the other it allows the Gujarat government to raise the height of the dam. Said Ms. Patkar: "You cannot ignore the voice of the poor in a development process. Development need not mean displacement. And you cannot have a handful of people take decisions without the participation of those affected and those asked to sacrifice their all."

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail