Sardar Sarovar: Prominent citizens, activists write to PM on rehab rights

Special Correspondent

NewsBits.in

Bhopal: A group of prominent citizens and activists have written to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, attracting his attention to plight of the communities affected by Sardar Sarovar Dam in Narmada valley and urging him to ensure that the gates of the dam are not closed until complete rehabilitation is done.

The citizens and activists including Irom Sharmila, Admiral (rtd) L Ramdas (ex-chief of naval staff), Aruna Roy, Harsh Mander, Nikhil Dey, Anand Patwardhan, Dr Sunilam and others have also urged the PM to ‘engage with Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), the people’s movement of 31 years, in a dialogue, aiming to develop a just and complete rehabilitation plan’.

The NBA has been constantly pushing the issue and since July 30, it is leading a satyagraha of affected people in Barwani, despite rising levels of Narmada River.

In the letter to Modi, the activists have said “there are thousands of families and a few lakhs of people residing in the villages yet to be rehabilitated is something which either the officials are wilfully concealing from you, or you fail to take cognisance of.”

The letter goes on to say that there are 15,900 families have been declared to be outside the submergence zone, (even after granting them part of the rehabilitation entitlements) after 30 years since the dam was planned and approved. “Can the lives of our citizens be so valueless that a few bureaucrats can play around with their plight as effortlessly as this?” 

“As a Prime Minister who ran an election campaign on anti-corruption plank, we expected you to take exemplary action against officials in Madhya Pradesh involved in the corruption as exposed by Justice S.S.Jha Commission, unearthing corruption to the tune of not less than Rs. 1500 crores in the fake sale deeds of land meant for the affected communities. Instead, we are witnessing an endorsement of the same, with you and Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh taking no action, and instead, letting to go the dam complete based on false records,” the letter says.  

The activists have told the PM that he was no stranger to the fact that this project has been in the center of controversy for the past three decades. Apart from the colossal human rights violation, the project has been plagued with bad planning, skewed allocation and unviable financials. 

“The people in the Narmada valley deserve the insaniyat you talked about the other day referring to the developments in Kashmir,” they have said, adding “we are hopeful that as the Prime Minister of the largest democracy, you will stand up to the rights of the people in Narmada Valley.”

Other signatories to the letter are Shankar Singh of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan,Lalita Ramdas, Human Rights Activist, Maj Gen SG Vombatkere (rtd) and Suhas Kolhekar of National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM).