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NBA Update

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1. NBA Press Note, April 7, 2006
2. B.D. Sharma, Press Release, April 8, 2006

NBA Update

1. NBA Press Note, April 7, 2006
NARMADA BACHAO ANDOLAN

CENTRAL MINISTERS' TEAM TASTES NARMADA VALLEY'S ANGER AND RESOLVE: TEN DAYS OF FAST, INCRASING NATIONWIDE SUPPORT

As the indefinite hunger strike by Medha Patkar, Jamsinghbhai and Bhagwatibai from the Narmada valley entered into the 10th day on Friday (April 7), there is increasing support from the nook and corners of India and from International arena for the demand to stop the construction on the Sardar Sarovar dam.

Meanwhile, on Friday the three member team of the central ministers got the perfect taste of the Narmada valley, as thousands of people compelled it to visit the villages, presented the real picture of the displacement and rehabilitation and reiterated their demand to stop the construction work on the dam. The three Union ministers - Minister for Water resources, Mr. Saifuddin Soz, Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Smt. Meira Kumar, Minister of state in PMO Mr. Prithviraj Chavan - were compelled to break their official itiniery and visit the villages where people exposed the government's claims, regarding the resettlement. The Ministers' team had to go to Avalda, Piplud, Avali and Nisarpur. The police mercilessly beat the activists and villagers at Avalda.

The people pointed out that the Madhya Pradesh government tried to force the cash compensation with police intimidation and they refused and made the police and officials retreat. They proved that the state government had prepared totally false and ex-parte' reports of resettlement, even when they refused to accept the cash compensation. Even the lone supporter of the dam, an old BJP worker, called for immediate stoppage of the construction work, as he sees no possibility of resettlement. Barring this isolated incident, the people made it clear that they were not ready to move out, without any credible evidence that they would be resettled with equally fertile and productive land, in a community and with all the resources necessary for living, as was put in the Narmada Water Dispute Tribunal's Award. The voluble ex-Minister Smt. Jamuna Devi invited the ire the people in Nisarpur by her intemperate remarks.

People time and again castigated the Ministers for the Union government's support to infamous Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, by helping his politics of raising the height of the Sardar Sarovar dam. They expressed their resolve not to be cowed down by fraud or intimidation and assert their right to life and livelihood.

In Delhi, indefinite fast by Medha Patkar, Jamsingh Nargave and Bhagwatibai has entered in 10th day on Friday (April 7). Medha and Jamsingh have continued their fast in the hospital where they have been detained by the Delhi police. On the dharna place Bhagwatibai, was joined by the two villagers-activists from Gujarat. The students of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi University and other institutions and organizations have been streaming up to express solidarity. The President of JNU students Union and other leaders, along with Prof. Kamal Mitra-Chenoy joined the fast as a mark of protest.

In Maharashtra, protest rallies, demonstrations, token fasts were held at number of places. In Pune, there was day long dharna on April 2, with number of organizations joining in. On April 6, three activists observed token fast and over 30 organizations and progressive parties joined them in dharna. The Communist Party of India, All India Janwadi Mahila Sabha, CITU, republica Party (Athavale group), Rashtra Seva Dal, Maan Bachao Sangharsha Samiti, Construction workers, Dalit, Adivasi and women's organizations, environmental groups, organizations working for alternative development and displaced people from various projects joined the dharna. The villagers of Maan, who have led a successful struggle against usurpation of their lands for IT park, observed the Black Day on April 6, as they saw the police brutality in Delhi

Similar protests took place in Aurangabad, Kolhapur, Sangli, Dhule and Mumbai. In Kolhapur, the CPI, Peasants and Workers' party, Janata Dal joined the protests along with Vigyan Prabodhini and other groups. Everywhere, they demanded the central government to stop the construction on the dam, while calling the Maharashtra to rescind its consent for raising the dam height. In Mumbai the organizations decided to hold demonstration every day at different locality, till the central government team announces its report.

It was after a long struggle, perseverance as well as life and death situations, that the GOI was compelled to send 3 ministers (Water resources, Social Justice and MOS from PMO) to the Narmada Valley to inspect the ground realities against claims made by 3 BJP led state governments as well as by its own officials, who were entrusted the duty of monitoring all aspects of Rehabilitation in the context of the Narmada Tribunal Award. Every one knows by now that the visit of the officials and by the R&R sub-group, that is legally binding and has to be done quarterly, has not taken place for the past 5 years. The visit of the Minister of Water Resources was planned because of the PMO's directives in November 2004. After the struggle reached its peak, ministers were finally sent, but this only marks the beginning of the governments' compliance with its own directives as per resettlement and rehabilitation in the Valley.

Medha Patkar and Jamsinghbhai, both hospitalized at AIIMs, are continuing their fast. No I.V. has been given and nimoo pani continues to be their only intake. Both would like to thank all supporters in the country who have expressed their solidarity to the cause of "development with unjust displacement" and warn the Government that "if they betray the people of Narmada, no community in this country will ever have faith in Rehabilitation and no project should be allowed to proceed presuming displacement without facing a radical challenge. If justice is denied after all this struggle, then justice will die."

Deepti Bhatnagar
Sanjay Sangvai
Kamla Yadav
Yogini Khanolkar

2. B.D. Sharma, Press Release, April 8, 2006

Prashant Bhushan
Dr. B.D. Sharma
Camp: Badwani / Indore

Reality of Displacement without Rehabilitation Is Clear: Need to Stop Work on Sardar Sarovar Dam Immediately

Ministerial Fact Finding Teamís Visit To The Narmada Submergence And R&R Sites

A team of three ministers headed by the central water resources minister Shri Saifuddin Soz made a hurried one day visit to a few Resettlement and Rehabilitation (R&R) sites and submergence villages of the Sardar Sarovar project yesterday. In the short time they had allocated, the team was able to visit only a few R & R sites and two submergence villages. They were unable to visit the submergence villages in the adivasi areas such as Kakrana and Khariya Bhadal where adivasis whose homes & lands were submerged long ago are still residing in very difficult circumstances in the absence of any rehabilitation.

The team saw that the various R & R sites such as Dharampuri, Lakhangaon. & Borlai had no infrastructure such as water, water pipelines, sanitation, sewage, etc. The sites were far from ready, and lacked other basic amenities. Even plots were not demarcated at the R&R site in Dharampuri. Consequently there were very few people, houses of oustees in any of these sites. There were none at Dharampuri. These are the sites where thousands of oustees have been shown on paper as having been resettled by the NVDA authorities.

The team also visited Piplud & Awalda submergence villages where a number of oustees narrated their tale of woes to the team. They pointed out that none of them had been offered any cultivable agricultural land anywhere in MP as per the NWDT Award. They pointed out that even Land Acquisition has not been completed in many of these villages. Many had not been offered compensation for their houses. Even those who had been forced to accept cash compensation had been given amounts which were not adequate for even buying 2 acres of land, let alone 5 acres which they were entitled to. Kailash from Bhilkheda said that several people from Bhilkheda and more than 300 oustees from Manavar Tehsil had been shown on paper to have been offered the same plot of land measuring 7 hectares in Borgaon village, which was also uncultivable.

A large number of oustees pointed out that none of the R & R sites were developed and that the NVDA and the Grievance Redressal authority have been disregarding their complaints and keeping them pending. Hardly any complaints get redressed by the GRA whose chairman Justice Sohani has not visited any R & R site or submergence village in the last 5 years since he says he has no infrastructure.

The team finally visited the R & R site at Nisarpur where more than 5,000 oustees from various villages in the area were present. Representative oustees from various villages in the area including Nisarpur pointed out that the R & R site at Nisarpur which is supposed to house over 700 families of oustees did not have any infrastructure and that the house plots were on depressed land which gets waterlogged and the roads were at several feet above the house plots with no drainage for the house plots. The NVDA officials claimed that as per their plan the R & R sites would be fully ready by 31st May or 30th June. The oustees pointed out that these claims have been repeatedly found to be false and that in any case, that would leave no time for oustees to construct new houses before their houses in the submergence villages get submerged.

The team was also told that the NVDA has been giving false action taken reports, the correctness of which has not been tested by any independent authority or the R & R Subgroup or the GRA. The R & R subgroup had not come to the Narmada valley in MP in the last 6 years. Sanovar Bi from Chikhalda village emotionally asked the team to spend more time in the valley, so that they could see the appalling state of affairs. Many people pointed out that so far there had been no violence in the valley, but if this state of affairs continues, this situation may not last long. All in all it became clear to the team that thousands of oustees who are already affected or those who would be affected by the submergence at 121.92 metres (the height which has now been permitted) would be displaced without rehabilitation.

Mr. Soz told the oustees at Nisarpur that they had seen and heard the tale of woes of the oustees and would convey the situation immediately to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. He said that there was grave concern in the government about the situation which was clear from the governmentís decision to send three ministers to the valley.

We hope, now that that it has become crystal clear that the decision to raise the height of the dam would submerge thousands of oustee families without rehabilitation, the government would take immediate steps to stop the construction of the dam.

Sd/-
Prashant Bhushan Adv. Dr. Bramha Dev Sharma

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