The Hindu : Dam oustees still awaiting rehabilitation

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Oct 01, 2002

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Other States - Uttar Pradesh

Dam oustees still awaiting rehabilitation

DEHRA DUN SEPT. 30. Even after two decades, Tehri dam oustees are still waiting for their rehabilitation problems to be addressed.

The then Uttar Pradesh Government was assigned the responsibility of working out a rehabilitation project for the oustees with the assistance of the Central Government.

However, the then UP government did not champion the cause of the hill people as expected, said Amit Ranavat, a dam oustee.

``In keeping with the legacy of long-term neglect of this region, it is not surprising that a separate hill state was created,'' he said.

The first interim government of Uttaranchal under the leadership of Nityanand Swami did prioritise rehabilitation of the oustees, but could not implement policies due to official hindrances.

The problem still persisted after the formation of the first elected government in the State under the leadership of Narayan Dutt Tiwari.

According to Satish Ramola, a resident of Tehri, the State Government should pressurise the Centre to implement the recommendations of the Hanumantha Rao Committee (HRC) in toto.

The HRC recommendations were accepted by the Central government in 1997.

However, during the implementation process, many recommendations have been severely toned down or totally ignored.

According to the recommendations, all children of the oustees who had attained the age of 18 years as on July 18, 1990 should get an ex gratia grant of Rs 75,000. But the rehabilitation policy of the State has reduced the grant to Rs 33,000 and changed the age to 21 years.

The HRC recommendations also mentioned an ex gratia grant of Rs 150,000 to the married sons of the oustees, but this clause is not mentioned in the State policy.

The Uttaranchal Industry Minister, Kishore Upadhyay, has been organising `Mahapanchayats' for the Tehri dam oustees since the past two months to pressurise the Centre to work out a proper rehabilitation package for the oustees.

``One of our main aims is also to make the oustees aware about the HRC recommendations and urge the Central Government to implement them,'' the Minister said.

The Uttaranchal Congress Committee has decided to organise a dharna in Delhi for the immediate rehabilitation of the oustees, he said.

The Uttaranchal Pradesh Congress president, Harish Rawat, and the senior Congress leader, Vijay Bahuguna, would participate in the protest.

Implementation of HRC recommendations would be one of the major issues raised in Delhi, the Minister added.

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