Front Page
Protest against move to raise dam height
By Our Staff Reporter
Booker Prize winner, Arundhati Roy, at a Narmada Bachao Andolan demonstration at Shastri Bhavan in New Delhi on Thursday. - Photo: M. Lakshman
NEW DELHI
FEB. 7.
Led by the environmental activist, Medha Patkar, hundreds of Adivasis and farmers affected by the Sardar Sarovar (Narmada) Dam project, today began an indefinite sit-in at the gate of the Union Ministry for Social Justice and Empowerment at Shastri Bhavan to protest against the proposed raising of the dam height to 100 metres.
The activists reached Shastri Bhavan at 10.30 a.m., and are prepared for a long stay should the need arise. They were accompanied by the Booker Prize-winning novelist, Arundhati Roy, the former High Court Judge, Rajinder Sachar, socialist, Surendra Mohan, members of several human and civil rights groups and students.
Ms. Patkar later said the activists would stay on till the Ministry acted on the demands of the Narmada Bachao Andolan. After leading a delegation of NBA representatives to the Secretary of the Ministry, Gopal Reddy, who is also the Chairman of the Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) Sub-Group, she said he had assured them that the decision on any further construction would only be taken after considering the persisting ground situation in resettlement.
Stating that ``the Chairman has promised that any decision regarding the height of the Sardar Sarovar dam will be taken only on the basis of ground reality adhering to the Tribunal Award and the directives of the Supreme Court,'' the NBA said the real test of legality and justice would however take place on February 8 when the Resettlement Sub-Group of Narmada Control Authority would meet to review and decide on the further raise of the dam construction beyond 90 metres.
Ms. Patkar said that following a meeting with the Chief Ministers of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, the Prime Minister had on January 24 declared that a decision to complete construction of the dam up to 100 metres by June 2002 had been taken. Stating that a similar decision had been recorded in the minutes of the 63rd meeting of the NCA held on November 20, 2001, the NBA leader said these decisions were contrary to the directions of the Supreme Court.
Of the view that either the Prime Minister had been ``misinformed or forgotten his role'', she said the Supreme Court judgment clearly laid down that construction would proceed as per the award of the Narmada Tribunal and directed that any construction above 90 metres could take place only after the R&R Sub-Group and Environment Sub-Group first give their clearances.
But she affirmed that no such clearance had come after due consultation. Also, Ms. Patkar said that as per the Tribunal Award, reiterated and upheld by the Supreme Court, the R&R Sub- Group was to give clearance for further construction only after ensuring through consultations with the Grievance Redress Authorities of the three States that the affected families were resettled.
However, Ms. Patkar said, as there was no land available for resettlement of families affected up to 100 metres, with even the land acquisition process not yet complete in Madhya Pradesh, by no stretch of imagination could one say that those affected had been resettled.
She expressed apprehension that the announcement had been made to appease the electorate in Rajkot, from where the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi, was contesting on a BJP ticket on February 14.
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Front Page
|
