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Dam oustees march for a better deal

Staff Correspondent

The demonstration was organised by the Narmada Bachao Andolan

— Photo: A M. Faruqui

SEEKING REHABILITATION: Oustees of the Indira Sagar, Omkareshwar, Maheshwar, Upper Beda, Maan and Bargi dams in the Narmada Valley taking out a march in Bhopal on Thursday.

BHOPAL: Thousands of Narmada oustees braved heavy rains on Thursday to join a protest march here to demand a better deal in terms of resettlement and rehabilitation (R&R).

Oustees from Bargi, Indira Sagar, Maheshwar, Maan and Upper Beda joined the demonstration, organised by the Narmada Bachao Andolan, in large numbers.

Memorandum submitted

The protestors went to the Narmada Valley Development Authority headquarters and sat there for three hours.

Later in the afternoon, an NBA delegation met NVDA Member, Rehabilitation, and handed him a memorandum. Earlier on Wednesday, NBA representatives had met State Minister Nagendra Singh.

The oustees are demanding a minimum of 5 acres of irrigated land for each family, housing plots on developed R&R sites and house construction assistance under the State government’s Rehabilitation Policy.

Excluded

Senior NBA activist Alok Agrawal told The Hindu that the oustees would sit on a dharna at Tin Shed, in the T.T. Nagar area, and await the official response to their demands.

In a statement, Mr. Agrawal and senior NBA activist Chittaroopa Palit said thousands of persons listed in the government survey were excluded from acquisition and compensation.

Orders flouted

Even the orders of the Supreme Court and the Madhya Pradesh High Court on R&R were being blatantly flouted, they pointed out.

The constitutional rights of the oustees were being violated by the dam building companies and even the State government. They were reaping huge profits at the cost of the oustees, they alleged.

In the last few years, Narmada Hydroelectric Development Corporation (NHDC) had earned a profit of about Rs. 1000 crore after tax.

But the Narmada dam oustees, they alleged, continued to run from pillar to post for their rights.

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