High Court-sponsored report on Narmada oustees may expose Rs 1,500 crore corruption in Madhya Pradesh

By A Representative
Seven years after it began its investigation, the Justice Shravan Shankar Jha Commission, set up by the Madhya Pradesh High Court, is all set to submit its detailed report on "massive corruption" which has in rehabilitating Narmada dam oustees in the state. The Commission was tasked to investigate the issue of fake land registries and four other types of corruptions that occurred in the rehabilitation of dam-affected families.
This report, said a communiqué by the National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), would reveal number of fake land registries offered in the name of special rehabilitation package to the oustees. Under the package, the oustees were given the option of choosing between land and cash, but in most cases they were forced to take cash, as the land they were shown was of poor quality.
“The question of who is to blame for this huge deception would need to be answered once the report is given to the court”, NAPM, which is the apex body of tens of people’s organizations, and is led by well-known social activist and leader of Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) Medha Patkar, said.
“The number of fake registries would reveal how many farmers actually got land and how many did not because of fraudulent registries. The state government has accepted only 686 fake registries and declared the rest to be correct, but the Jha Commission findings are likely to be triple or quadruple this number”, NAPM said.
Referring to the technical team set up by the Jha Commission to investigate 88 rehabilitation sites, NAPM said, “It is expected that the Jha Commission report would expose the crores of rupees of corruption and irregularities that took place in the construction work and quality of the construction of civic amenities at these sites.”
“The report should reveal irregularities, if any, in the rehabilitation of project-affected families, including the allotment of housing plots and several basic amenities that were to be provided”, NAPM said, adding, "The report would present facts regarding fraudulently turning ineligible persons eligible into eligible beneficiaries and vice versa.”
“The report would help one conclude whether the Madhya Pradesh government claim that the rehabilitation of the Narmada oustees was completed in 2008 had any basis, even as pointing towards actual number of families that remain to be rehabilitated in 2016”, NAPM said. The Jha Commission was set up in 2008, by an order of the High Court.
“Every time the Madhya Pradesh government starved the Commission of necessary funds or other needed resources, NBA had to plead before the court for the Commission to get these resources. This went on till October 2015 in the last stages too when the state government cut the commission’s funds”, NAPM said.
“NBA has long been claiming that thousands of oustees have faced serious corruption in the rehabilitation process, thereby depriving them of their rights and rehabilitation benefits. According to one estimate, of the Rs 2,300 crore allotted to Madhya Pradesh for the rehabilitation purposes, misappropriation to the tune of Rs 1,000 to 1,500 crore took place”, NAPM said.
Douting Madhya Pradesh government intentions, NAPM said, “The question remains, after this report, would the state government, Narmada Valley Development Authority and Narmada Control Authority fulfill their responsibilities towards rehabilitation of oustees.”

Comments

When a lake becomes real estate: The mismanagement of Hyderabad’s waterbodies

By Dr Mansee Bal Bhargava* Misunderstood, misinterpreted and misguided governance and management of urban lakes in India —illustrated here through Hyderabad —demands urgent attention from Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), the political establishment, the judiciary, the builder–developer lobby, and most importantly, the citizens of Hyderabad. Fundamental misconceptions about urban lakes have shaped policies and practices that systematically misuse, abuse and ultimately erase them—often in the name of urban development.

'Serious violation of international law': US pressure on Mexico to stop oil shipments to Cuba

By Vijay Prashad In January 2026, US President Donald Trump declared Cuba to be an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to US security—a designation that allows the United States government to use sweeping economic restrictions traditionally reserved for national security adversaries. The US blockade against Cuba began in the 1960s, right after the Cuban Revolution of 1959 but has tightened over the years. Without any mandate from the United Nations Security Council—which permits sanctions under strict conditions—the United States has operated an illegal, unilateral blockade that tries to force countries from around the world to stop doing basic commerce with Cuba. The new restrictions focus on oil. The United States government has threatened tariffs and sanctions on any country that sells or transports oil to Cuba.

When grief becomes grace: Kerala's quiet revolution in organ donation

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Kerala is an important model for understanding India's diversity precisely because the religious and cultural plurality it has witnessed over centuries brought together traditions and good practices from across the world. Kerala had India's first communist government, was the first state where a duly elected government was dismissed, and remains the first state to achieve near-total literacy. It is also a land where Christianity and Islam took root before they spread to Europe and other parts of the world. Kerala has deep historic rationalist and secular traditions.

Bangladesh goes to polls as press freedom concerns surface

By Nava Thakuria* As Bangladesh heads for its 13th Parliamentary election and a referendum on the July National Charter simultaneously on Thursday (12 February 2026), interim government chief Professor Muhammad Yunus has urged all participating candidates to rise above personal and party interests and prioritize the greater interests of the Muslim-majority nation, regardless of the poll outcomes.

Beyond the conflict: Experts outline roadmap for humane street dog solutions

By A Representative In a direct response to the rising polarization surrounding India’s street dog population, a high-level coalition of parliamentarians, legal experts, and civil society leaders gathered in the capital to propose a unified national framework for humane animal management. The emergency deliberations were sparked by a recent Suo Moto judgment that has significantly deepened the divide between animal welfare advocates and those calling for the removal of community dogs, a tension that has recently escalated into reported violence against both animals and their caretakers in states like Telangana.

Why 20 years later, Rang De Basanti feels less like cinema, more like warning

By Mohd Ziyaullah Khan* This Republic Day , the Rang De Basanti , starring Aamir Khan , completed 20 years since its release. I first watched it in a single-screen theatre in my city—at a time when multiplexes were only just beginning to appear and our town was still waiting for one. It remains my favourite film, and I often revisit it on OTT platforms or television around Independence Day or Republic Day, when the air is thick with rehearsed patriotism. A few days ago, I noticed it streaming again on Jio Hotstar . Released in 2006, it is a film I have watched many times over the years. Yet, like all powerful cinema, returning to it at different stages of life offers a different experience. Twenty years ago, I found it deeply inspiring. In 2026, watching it again felt suffocating. At its core, the film follows a group of Delhi University friends who challenge the might of the central government after one of their own, a flight lieutenant, is killed in a MiG aircraft crash alleged...

The Galgotia model: How India is losing the war on knowledge

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Galgotia is the face of 'quality education' as envisioned by those who never considered education a tool for social change or national uplift — and yet this is precisely the model Narendra Modi pursued in Gujarat as Chief Minister. In the mid-eighties, when many of us were growing up, 'Nirma' became one of the most popular advertisements on Doordarshan. Whether the product was any good hardly seemed to matter.

Stray dogs, an epsilon (ϵ) problem: Of child labour, and the art of misplaced priorities

By Bhaskaran Raman The Greek alphabet ϵ (epsilon) is used in maths and science to denote a quantity which is not zero, but extremely small *** Since the Supreme Court's interim order on the issue of stray dogs came out on 07 Nov 2025, there have been a range of opinion pieces speaking for the voiceless. Most of them take the stance that there is a "problem" with stray dogs, but that we need a humane solution. I agree with this broadly, but I think we need new terminology to talk about this.

A. R. Rahman's ‘Yethu’ goes viral, celebrating Tamil music on the world stage

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* Good news for Tamil music lovers—the Mozart of Madras is back in the Tamil music industry with his song “Yethu” from the film “Moonwalk.” The track has climbed international charts, once again placing A. R. Rahman on the global stage.

Search This Blog