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No more excuses

The Supreme Court's latest directions on the contentious issues surrounding the Sardar Sarovar dam have cleared all residual doubt about the Prime Minister's authority to act in the matter. He now has no excuse to put off examining closely and impartially whether rehabilitation has been in compliance with the two Supreme Court rulings of 2000 and 2005 and the Narmada Waters Dispute Tribunal Award (NWDTA). The report of the Group of Ministers (GoM) relating to Madhya Pradesh has highlighted the shocking lack of compliance with what the legal and human situation demands — in terms of resettling families affected by submergence. The Grievance Redressal Authority (GRA), instituted to ensure that the displaced get a fair hearing, is inaccessible. It has more than 5,000 pending cases; its members have not visited the Narmada valley for years; and its Chairman sits in Bhopal, far away from those seeking redress. The GoM report also makes it abundantly clear that the Madhya Pradesh Government has violated both the NWDTA and the Supreme Court's rulings that `oustees' losing agricultural land should be compensated with land. Families are being given cash compensation in clear violation of these orders. There is abundant evidence of failure and breach of trust in the resettlement process in Madhya Pradesh even at the current height of the dam.

The political challenge before the Central Government is this. Will it use the three-month window allowed it by the Supreme Court to prevaricate? Or will it break with the past and intervene earnestly to ensure justice to the affected families? The apex court can demand accountability from the four States — Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan — that must report to it by May 1 on the status of rehabilitation. But it is the Prime Minister who must now ensure that the reports on rehabilitation are not just fictional "paperwork," as exposed by the GoM. If Madhya Pradesh has not succeeded in resettling all those affected by the dam at its current height, it is hard to imagine how it will meet the Supreme Court's deadline of three months to complete the task. Another worry is that in three months, given the frenetic pace of construction at Sardar Sarovar, the dam will have reached a height at which even if further construction is halted, the practical effect will be meaningless. This is precisely why the Narmada Bachao Andolan demanded that work be stopped at the current height until these issues are resolved. This is why the correct decision by the Supreme Court would have been to order such a course. The one positive outcome of these tense three weeks is that the question of just rehabilitation from such projects is now in the public domain, thanks to the NBA's campaign and the media coverage. In a democracy, all developmental policy must go through this kind of vigorous and informed public debate to ensure that the voices of those most affected are heard.

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