For Immediate Release
Bhopal 13 February, 2010
Can the Centre grant 11,000 crores more to Sardar Sarovar Project in violation of law, justice and environmental sustainability measures?
Conspiracy to bypass the Ministry of Environment and Forestry’s Expert Committee will not be beneficial;
M.P. is not to get power or water even after ¡¥Jal Samadhi¡¦ to two lakh people and investment of 7000 crores.
Bhopal: Gujarat¡¦s politics on Narmada is at its peak once again trying its best to grab 11,000 crore rupees worth financial ¡¥assistance¡¦ from the central government. Since the environmental clearance was received in 1987, Gujarat went ahead pushing the dam height without planning either the canals or the command area development. Having completed only 30% of the canals in 30 years, the Gujarat Government announced a few months ago that it will not build the rest 70% of the canal network, with many contradictory statements, sometimes favouring the canals and at other times, the pipeline!!
Gujarat¡¦s Chief Minister Mr. Narendra Modi finally declared appointment of a Committee of Water resource persons, mostly former bureaucrats under Mr. B.N. Navlavala (Former Member, Planning Commission) to review the feasibility of laying pipelines (3 feet underground), in lieu of the massive and expensive canal network, based on the economic, social and environmental criteria. At the same time, Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has already appointed an Expert Committee in 2008 to assess and approve as also monitor various environmental studies / plans of Sardar Sarovar, Indira Sagar and Omkareshwar dams. The Committee has recently received submissions on the Command Area Development (CAD) plans of Madhya Pradesh and heard presentations of some officials from M.P. and Gujarat as late as on 31-01-2010, but the Committee is yet to approve the same.
Can Gujarat have it own way against Environmental and Rehabilitation Sub-Groups?
When raising the height of the dam is not permitted by the Environmental Sub Group (ESG) led by the MoEF and the Rehabilitation (R&R) Sub Group led by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, (MSJE) of the Narmada Control Authority (NCA) the Modi Government is known to be engaged into all kinds of political strategies and machinations to get the central clearance for raising the dam to its full height of 138.68 mts by erecting the gates at one go! It wants to bypass all the pre-conditions put forth while sanctioning the gigantic dam and disobey the Supreme Court¡¦s Judgement of 2000 (NBA vs UoI and others) in terms of completing the social and environmental measures. It is clear that the vicious attempt is to take over the process of monitoring by these two Sub-Groups and the upcoming Interim Report of the Expert Committee of MoEF, which is expected anyday, in the backdrop of serious violation and non-compliance.
With a huge catchment of 10,00,00 kms, which is the Narmada Basin, 24 lakh hectares are yet to be treated by all the three states; Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra if the dam is to sustain its planned life and not to get silted, after having submerged living villages, best land and forests. Canals in Gujarat can also not be excavated nor can the waters flow in those, unless and until the CAD plans are finalized and approved by the Environment Ministry. This has been a known condition as stated in the Guidelines issued by the Central Water Commission and River Valley Guidelines (1985) of MoEF. Without implementing these conditions, SSP is surely to go the Bhakra way. Government of India¡¦s own findings way back in 1991 has established fact that the much-trumpeted Bhakra Nangal Project which was pushed without following the command area guidelines led to degradation of a massive 2,50,000 hectares of land in Punjab and Haryana!!
Will political expediency Gujarat frustrate the right moves of MoEF?
The MoEF has the necessary mandate and the responsibility to ensure that the plans to prevent water logging and salinization i.e. ensure drainage or conjunctive use of surface and ground water; to prevent negative impacts on health and on flora and fauna including cropping pattern are to be in place sufficiently in advance of the canal construction and irrigation. These were the conditions when the project was cleared by the then Rajiv Gandhi Government with a lot of hesitation and under pressure by Gujarat as is clearly reported in the records of the Prime Minister¡¦s office (1986-87) submitted before the Supreme Court in 2000 and reported in the Apex Court¡¦s judgement as well. Therefore, Secretary, MoEF had to write to the Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR) in November 2007, stating that the canal project of Sardar Sarovar must not be funded till the full compliance is ensured. Moreover, a categorical decision was taken in the 41st Meeting of the ESG, in January 2005 itself to forbid Gujarat from carrying on irrigation until the plans are approved.
It is also to be noted that the Environment Minister Mr. Jairam Ramesh himself wrote to Narendra Modi on 6th August, 2009 regarding such serious non-compliance on these issues and seeking full compliance of his state on the pari-passu conditions (simultaneous implementation with dam not achieved) imposed since the environmental clearance of 1987. Considering all this, Government of India cannot pro-actively violate the right moves by its own Ministries and facilitate sanction of more funds for the Project unless all the social and environmental protective measures necessary for saving the land, livelihood and life of the people in the Narmada valley as well as in the command area are undertaken and completed.
What will M.P. gain out of Sardar Sarovar even after ¡¥Jal Samadhi¡¦¡¦ of two lakh people from Narmada Valley, the oldest of the civilizations in the world?
While Modi Govt. is creating its own political pressures and extracting money from the Centre by bringing the Members of Parliament together, there is no one in Madhya Pradesh (save the people of Narmada Ghati) to expose the real costs and benefits to the State. It is plain truth that the lakhs of people, prime agricultural land, temples, ghats and masjids with thickly populated communities of adivasis, farmers, fish workers would be given a ¡¥Jal Samadhi¡¦ if the Centre¡¦s nod to canal construction is taken ahead. These include thousands of adivasi families from Alirajpur and Badwani districts whose lands and houses are already submerged since 1990s and yet are not given the land-based rehabilitation in Madhya Pradesh.
As far as ¡¥benefit¡¦s to the state of M.P. go, the only benefit of power (56%) that was guaranteed (of whatever is generated) through the Narmada Tribunal Award (1979) is also not received by the state, as yet. Maharashtra, which is in a similar situation of betrayal by Gujarat has demanded compensation worth 1800 crores for the move. Why is M.P. silent on the same, which is to suffer double the loss? On the other hand, the state seems ready to pay further Rs. 4,000 crores, totaling about 7000 crores which is the Balance of Payment for no gain and all loss!
Narmada Valley adivasis challenge ¡¥violence¡¦ by Modi and ¡¥silence¡¦ by Chauhan Government:
While even today there are two lakh people residing and settled in the Sardar Sarovar reservoir area, there is only ¡¥rehabilitation¡¦ replete with crude and rude corruption through various forms such as fake registries, corruption in house plot allotment, payment of compensation to ineligible, flawed back water levels etc. Though, through two major orders of the Chief Justice of M.P High Court of 21st August 2008 and 12th November, 2009, a Judicial Commission of Inquiry under Retd. (Justice) Shravan Shankar Jha was constituted and functioning, GoMP has been displaying a very weak political will to combat corruption.
Having experienced submergence of his land, the only livelihood, Kishore Manglia from adivasi village Kharya Bhadal in Badwani district angrily questions ¡§ Shivraj Singh and Modi Government seem to be conspiring together to submerge our generations-old land and are doling it to these dams and companies. Where is our consent? What is our share in this game of numbers? We matter only when our votes are sought, but not once were we consulted when our home and hearths, Gods and Goddesses went under a watery grave! We will see how far the Governments can go ahead with these unconstitutional moves, pushing the dam with corruption and atrocities. Give us land for land or we will not move¡¨.
Sardar Sarovar Benefits and Costs in Doldrums: Time for Planning Commission to review:
Today, the entire cost-benefit scenario of SSP has gone haywire, with the costs having sky-rocketed from the original estimate of Rs. 4200 crores (1983), 6406 crores (1988) to Rs. 45,000 crores and further upto Rs . 70, 000 crores (by 2012) as per expert appraisal of the Planning Commission (11th Plan). The new grant for SSP¡¦s canals by Centre, which is planned to be released till 2015 shockingly indicates that the cost of the project may shoot upto Rs. 80,000 crores!! All this is a gross violation of the Investment clearance of the Planning Commission which should be deemed to have lapsed. With 30,000 crores already spent, only 7% of the reservoir waters are used and just 70,000 hectares of land irrigated till today!!
It is in this context that the Memorandum of Understanding between the Union of India (UoI) and Government of Gujarat (GoG) to grant 11,000 crore rupees to Gujarat becomes highly questionable as being absolutely against law and justice, both. How can the Centre disagreed critical comments by the highest constitutional auditory authority (Comptroller and Auditor General) on the gross mis-utilization and underutilization of crores of funds granted till now?
Time has come to have the Planning Commission review the entire Project, along with the MoEF and MSJE and put its foot down against any further work and not to financially assist such a devastative project.
M.P. has once last chance: Will Chauhan Government act to save the Narmada Valley?
The Chief Minister, who has time and again displayed his aversion to any dialogue on Narmada should be reminded that the Narmada cannot be saved from pollution, why even destruction, unless the political conspiracy of pushing these giant dams with thousands of kilometers long canal network in the region that is prosperous with best of agricultural and horticultural land with generations old communities in the most unplanned, unscientific, illegal and inhuman way is stopped and a firm political will is shown to save Narmada and its people which is a treasure and a heritage, for this state much more than for Gujarat.
The Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh has one last chance before the dam is pushed to its full height, killing communities with 2 lakh population. Will he utilize it to save the people of his state?
For further details please contact:
Ashish Mandloi
+91 7290-222464
Medha Patkar
+91 9423965153
Surbhan Bhilala
+ 9179148973
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
