The much talked-about and most infamous Vyapam scandal has very blatantly and silently overpowered the engagements of the State and its people—as is clearly evident from the fact that touch is totally lost with even the most sensitive issues concerning the lives and miseries of lakhs of poor countrymen. It is also astonishing that on the one hand, not only is there no one in the government system to express concern about a non-violent mass movement which has engulfed the entire Narmada valley, but on the other hand, even the Congress opposition is busy merely attacking the chief minister on Vyapam, rather than lending its support to the already displaced and about-to-be displaced victims. Ironically, the Chief of the Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee, Arun Yadav, hails from the very area where a mass movement against raising the height of the Sardar Sarovar dam of Gujarat, is currently in progress. But the Congress is more interested in political stunts like—seeking the resignation of the chief minister Shivraj Singh and attacking the Prime Minister Narendra Modi—and least bothered about seriously attending to an issue of grave human concern. This is so because it offers no political mileage to the already beleaguered Congress, thrown into oblivion after the last Lok Sabha polls.
The major point of concern is the raising of the height of the Sardar Sarovar installation by 17 meters. Worries are about big corporates investing funds for the industrialization of the State but no piece of land is made available to rehabilitate the displaced population.
It was on Friday that the Adhikar Yatra after passing from village to village announced that it was going to start—from Saturday an indefinite Satyagraha at Rajghat in Badwani district near Indore. No one from the either the State government or the Narmada Valley Development Authority (NVDA), or from any other competent agency appears to be keen to start any sort of dialogue, whatsoever, with their own citizens. It is now over thirty years that the people of the Narmada Valley have been fighting for their rights. Governments have come and gone, promises made and unmade, but nothing ever happened on the ground.
In fact, and not surprisingly so, the government does not have any policy and or the required will to address the human issues of rehabilitating the population that is being continuously displaced on account of various projects being executed in the name of taking the state and the country onwards on the road to development. As the leader of the Narmada movement Medha Patkar describes the present struggle: “…the present phase is the most crucial test for the Andolan and people of the Valley. It is a battle between justice and injustice; between truth and lies and between development and destruction. It is a choice between life and death. And we don’t have a choice but to struggle.”
The allegations levied are, that in the name of ‘revision’ of back water levels, the Narmada Authority ‘unlawfully’ and ‘unscientifically’ has thrown 16,000 families ‘out of submergence’ while all of them were earlier declared as ‘affected’ and had also been granted R&R benefits. As per the March 2015, Gujarat Government data, the BWL of Khalghat has been shown as 149.84 mtrs while the entire decision making—to exclude the oustees—is being done on the basis of 144.92 mtrs which will seriously affect the lives of thousands of people.
The agitators are of the opinion that in the event of heavy rains and water releases from upstream dams, the cumulative effect on the Narmada and its tributaries such as Chidi, Gangli, Khujawa, Maan, Mandwadi and other water from nullahs etc., would be devastating. Additionally the dam with an additional 17 mts height would catastrophically send thousands of people to a watery grave.
Things would certainly have been different had there been a non-BJP government in either Gujarat or in Madhya Pradesh. But the present situation is different and not likely to change even in the long run. The Sardar Sarovar dam has been described as the pride of Gujarat and a dream project of Narendra Modi. As the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Modi fought aggressively for the project with a determination to take it to the projected height so that Narmada water could be made available to water-deficit populations of his state and to generate sufficient hydel power for irrigation and industrialization of Gujarat.
The Madhya Pradesh Government, as it stands today, cannot dictate terms to Smt. Anandi Ben Patel, the present Chief Minister of Gujarat, to come forward in assisting Madhya Pradesh in the Resettlement and Rehabilitation of Sardar Sarovar oustees. Even in the past, the Narmada oustees were offered such lands for settlement in Gujarat that at the first opportunity they wanted to leave the place. Madhya Pradesh is creating a multitude of thousands of such people, who would endlessly and futilely wait for their rehabilitation. The Narmada Bachao Andolan is a testimony to this sad reality; as nothing fruitful has come out of its struggles — during the last thirty years.
The charge that the Madhya Pradesh Government, on its part, is not serious in addressing the genuine demands of non-violent and peaceful agitators is evident from the fact that there is no Cabinet Minister holding the portfolio as an ‘in-charge’ to take care of Narmada. The department is being looked after by the Chief Minister amongst all his other responsibilities. Mr. Lal Singh Arya who is a Minister of State in the cabinet and who is already over-burdened with several departments like General Administration, Urban Administration and Development, is also supposed to be looking after the NVDA. It is after ages that the long vacant post of NVDA Chairman was only recently filled with the appointment of Rakesh Sahni. This happens to be the third assignment for Rakesh Sahni after his retirement as Chief Secretary. Rajnish Vaish, Principal Secretary, is the Vice-Chairman of the NVDA and so it is mostly through such juggling—between the present and past bureaucrats—that the sad plight of the Narmada oustees is being discussed and attempted to be addressed. Hence, despite the movement for the last thirty years, no one really knows what ultimate and possibly tragic fate awaits these long-time sufferers.
