Other States - Madhya Pradesh   

Court orders allotment of land to dam oustees

BHOPAL: Responding to a petition filed by the Narmada Bachao Andolan, the Madhya Pradesh High Court bench comprising Chief Justice A.K. Patnaik and Justice Ajit Singh has directed that every farmer, and adult son of a farmer, being displaced by the Omkareshwar dam, must be provided with agricultural land for land with a minimum allotment of 5 acres of irrigated land as per the Resettlement and Rehabilitation (R&R) Plan, R&R policy and Government of India approvals.

The High Court has also directed that every adult son of a cultivator must be allotted land, even if he is not a titleholder.

Briefing media persons about the High Court order, senior NBA activists Alok Agrawal and Chittaroopa Palit said here on Friday that the bench on Thursday directed that the present water level of 189 meters cannot be raised until the R&R of all the oustees of the project and the allotment of land is completed. The High Court also directed the State Government to pay Rs. 10,000 to the petitioner – the NBA -- as costs.

Omkareshwar dam is one of the large dams being constructed in the Narmada valley. Thirty villages and nearly 8000 families are affected by this dam. It is being constructed by the NHDC (Narmada Hydro-Development Corporation) – which is a joint venture of the State Government and the Central Government undertaking, the NHPC.

Although the basic feature of the R&R policy applicable for this project is the allotment of land for land with a minimum of 5 acres of irrigated land, not even a single oustee has been provided land, Mr. Agrawal said, adding that since the State Government permitted filling of the reservoir on March 28 last year without meeting the mandatory requirements on the R&R front, the Narmada Bachao Andolan had approached the High Court on March 30, 2007 and obtained a stay on filling of reservoir.

Citing the judgments of the Supreme Court in the first and second Narmada Bachao Andolan cases, and in the N.D. Jayal Tehri dam case, the High Court has stated that it is a fundamental right of the oustees under Article 21 of the Constitution to be made better-off after displacement.

The High Court has held that it is the constitutional obligation of the State Government to provide R&R entitlements to the oustees including the allotment of land. In this case, since the Narmada Hydro-Development Corporation (NHDC), which is the Project holder, is a joint venture of the State and Central Government undertakings, both the State and Central Governments are under an obligation to provide these entitlements including the allotment of land.

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Court orders allotment of land to dam oustees

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