Change of purpose? Sardar Statue, tourism project on land acquired for Narmada dam, says official document

By A Representative
Is the Gujarat government set on a developing high-profile tourism spot, which would include the 182-metre high statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, on the land acquired for the Sardar Sarovar dam – signifying a change of purpose? It would seem so, if you goes by a right to information (RTI) query is any guide. The statue is proposed as the highest bust on earth, with the cost of Rs 3,000 crore. The RTI query was filed with a Gujarat government revenue office by senior activist Kirit Rathod, who demanded official documents concerning land acquisition for the Sardar statue project, including orders, if any, regarding this.
The reply, which was given by the Narmada district collectorate’s office on February 18, 2014, said, the so-called Statue of Unity would be implemented at Limdi village, Nandod taluka, Narmada district. “The Sadhu bet as well as the surrounding area was acquired for the Narmada project, and it is in possession of mamladtar’s office, Nandod, ever since August 23, 1967. Hence, there is no need for fresh acquisition of land for the proposed project.”
Calling this a “very serious matter”, Rathod, who is with the Dalit rights body Navsarjan Trust, Ahmedabad, said, this suggests that the purpose for which the land was acquired – building of the dam – is now set to change. If earlier it was to build the Sardar Sarovar dam, now it would become a tourism project, which would include the Sardar Statue. “How can the Gujarat government change the purpose of land acquisition like this”, the senior activist wonders.
These facts have come light against the backdrop of demand by villagers surrounding the Sardar Sarovar dam to “return” the land, acquired for the dam. The land, they say, has remained unused till now, and the purpose for which it was acquired has been “fulfilled”. Even the Kevadia colony, built on the acquired land, is being slowly getting depopulated. Hence, there is little reason why its leftover should remain with the Gujarat government any more.

Kirit Rathod

The villagers have simultaneously been demanding “fair compensation” for the land which was taken away from them for the dam. According to them, they should be paid compensation on par with the Narmada dam oustees of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The oustees, including landless, are being paid an alternative plot of land for cultivation, a house in a rehabilitation colony which has all the facilities of education and health, apart from some cash compensation. The Gujarat government has so far refused to agree.
Significantly, while the RTI reply does not mention it, the rural folk of as many as 70 villages, mostly tribals, were last year served notice that they should agree to a proposal from the Gujarat government for land acquisition for tourism project, as and when it takes place. The notice threateningly tells the village panchayats that in case they do not agree with the notice, they had better face “serious consequences.”
This flared up the tribals of 70 villagers, who formed Sitter Gaam Adivasi Sangathan, to fight against land acquisition for the tourism project. The fear of land acquisition was further aggravated following the decision of the Gujarat government to build a weir across the Narmada river, about 12 kilomtres downstream of the Sardar Sarovar dam. Called Garudeshwar weir, it is supposed to store water in the 12 km stretch starting at the Narmada dam, to be used for water sports, on one hand, and supplying water to industry, on the other.

Comments

India's chemical industry: The missing piece of Atmanirbhar Bharat

By N.S. Venkataraman* Rarely a day passes without the Prime Minister or a cabinet minister speaking about the importance of Atmanirbhar Bharat . The Start-up India scheme is a pillar in promoting this vision, and considerable enthusiasm has been reported in promoting start-up projects across the country. While these developments are positive, Atmanirbhar Bharat does not seem to have made significant progress within the Indian chemical industry . This is a matter of high concern that needs urgent and dispassionate analysis.

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Remembering a remarkable rebel: Personal recollections of Comrade Himmat Shah

By Rajiv Shah I first came in contact with Himmat Shah in the second half of the 1970s during one of my routine visits to Ahmedabad , my maternal hometown. I do not recall the exact year, but at that time I was working in Delhi with the CPI -owned People’s Publishing House (PPH) as its assistant editor, editing books and writing occasional articles for small periodicals. Himmatbhai — as I would call him — worked at the People’s Book House (PBH), the CPI’s bookshop on Relief Road in Ahmedabad.

History, culture and literature of Fatehpur, UP, from where Maulana Hasrat Mohani hailed

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Maulana Hasrat Mohani was a member of the Constituent Assembly and an extremely important leader of our freedom movement. Born in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, Hasrat Mohani's relationship with nearby district of Fatehpur is interesting and not explored much by biographers and historians. Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri has written a book on Maulana Hasrat Mohani and Fatehpur. The book is in Urdu. He has just come out with another important book, 'Hindi kee Pratham Rachna: Chandayan' authored by Mulla Daud Dalmai.' During my recent visit to Fatehpur town, I had an opportunity to meet Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri and recorded a conversation with him on issues of history, culture and literature of Fatehpur. Sharing this conversation here with you. Kindly click this link. --- *Human rights defender. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vbrawat , X @freetohumanity, Skype @vbrawat

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Minority rights group writes to Gujarat CEO, flags serious issues in SIR process

By A Representative The Minority Coordination Committee (MCC) Gujarat has submitted a formal representation to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Gujarat, Harit Shukla (IAS), highlighting serious irregularities and difficulties faced by voters in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process of the electoral roll. The organisation warned that if corrective measures are not taken urgently, a large number of eligible citizens may be deprived of their voting rights.

Search This Blog