"Setback" to Govt of India on cases of corruption in land allotment to Narmada dam oustees: NBA

By A Representative
In a significant development, a two judge bench of the Supreme Court, comprising Justice TS Thakur and Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, has refused to entertain a Petition filed by the Narmada Control Authority (NCA) to transfer a seven year old public interest litigation (PIL) from the High Court of Madhya Pradesh to the Supreme Court. Chaired by the secretary, Union water resources ministry, NCA is the decision-making inter-state body with powers to take a final call on all major contentious issues related with the Narmada project, including raising of the dam.
The NCA had requested the Supreme Court to transfer the writ petition No 14765/2007, which was filed by the powerful anti-dam organisation Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), challenging massive corruption in the resettlement and rehabilitation (R&R) of the Sardar Sarovar project affected families in Madhya Pradesh. Involving thousands of Narmada dam oustees, the NBA has alleged, on the basis of official reports, that huge funds were siphoned away by corrupt officials while offering cash in lieu of land to the oustees.

The NBA believes, offering cash instead of land is “illegal” and runs counter to the Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal (NWDT) award on distribution of Narmada water to the four states – Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.
The NCA had simultaneously sought transfer of an interim application by NBA, currently with the Madhya Pradesh High Court. The application has challenged the decision of the NCA, backed by the Narendra Modi government, dated June 12, 2014, allowing the Gujarat government to raise in Narmada dam’s height from 121.92 metres to the full reservoir level, 138.64 metres.

The application had wanted the dam height should not be allowed to be raised till the Judicial Commission appointed by the High Court under Justice SS Jha (retired), which has been inquiring the corruption scandal for the last six years, submits its report to the High Court, and the High Curt issues directions on it.
“Refusing to transfer the NCA’s plea on corruption from the High Court to the Apex Court, the Division Bench said that the Madhya Pradesh High Court would continue to hear the corruption matter, but not the issue to raise of the height of Narmada dam”, an NBA statement said, adding, “With regard to the latter issue of raise in the height in the Narmada dam, the bench granted liberty to the NBA to approach the Supreme Court for suitable directions.”
The statement added, “The NBA will continue to raise the issue of corruption in the rehabilitation before the High Court and challenge the illegal move to raise the height of the dam, along with other issues of rehabilitation, before the Supreme Court as also other forums. There are to this day 2.5 lakh oustees yet to be rehabilitated and thousands of un-rehabilitated families under the present dam height of 121.92 metres itself, who have become a victim of corruption and State neglect.”
NBA leader Medha Patkar, petition in person, and Advocate Sanjay Parikh appeared for the respondents NBA. Mukul Rohtgi, Attorney General of India, and Syed Naqvi, advocate, appeared for the Union of India and the NCA.

Comments

Plastic burning in homes threatens food, water and air across Global South: Study

By Jag Jivan In a groundbreaking study spanning 26 countries across the Global South , researchers have uncovered the widespread and concerning practice of households burning plastic waste as a fuel for cooking, heating, and other domestic needs. The research, published in Nature Communications , reveals that this hazardous method of managing both waste and energy poverty is driven by systemic failures in municipal services and the unaffordability of clean alternatives, posing severe risks to human health and the environment.

Economic superpower’s social failure? Inequality, malnutrition and crisis of India's democracy

By Vikas Meshram India may be celebrated as one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, but a closer look at who benefits from that growth tells a starkly different story. The recently released World Inequality Report 2026 lays bare a country sharply divided by wealth, privilege and power. According to the report, nearly 65 percent of India’s total wealth is owned by the richest 10 percent of its population, while the bottom half of the country controls barely 6.4 percent. The top one percent—around 14 million people—holds more than 40 percent, the highest concentration since 1961. Meanwhile, the female labour force participation rate is a dismal 15.7 percent.

The greatest threat to our food system: The aggressive push for GM crops

By Bharat Dogra Thanks to the courageous resistance of several leading scientists who continue to speak the truth despite increasing pressures from the powerful GM crop and GM food lobby , the many-sided and in some contexts irreversible environmental and health impacts of GM foods and crops, as well as the highly disruptive effects of this technology on farmers, are widely known today.

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.

Stands 'exposed': Cavalier attitude towards rushed construction of Char Dham project

By Bharat Dogra* The nation heaved a big sigh of relief when the 41 workers trapped in the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel (Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand) were finally rescued on November 28 after a 17-day rescue effort. All those involved in the rescue effort deserve a big thanks of the entire country. The government deserves appreciation for providing all-round support.

'Restructuring' Sahitya Akademi: Is the ‘Gujarat model’ reaching Delhi?

By Prakash N. Shah* A fortnight and a few days have slipped past that grim event. It was as if the wedding preparations were complete and the groom’s face was about to be unveiled behind the ceremonial tinsel. At 3 PM on December 18, a press conference was poised to announce the Sahitya Akademi Awards .

Epic war against caste system is constitutional responsibility of elected government

Edited by well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan, the book, “Bhed-Bharat: An Account of Injustice and Atrocities on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-18)” (available in English and Gujarati*) is a selection of news articles on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-2018) published by Dalit Shakti Prakashan, Ahmedabad. Preface to the book, in which Macwan seeks to answer key questions on why the book is needed today: *** The thought of compiling a book on atrocities on Dalits and thus present an overall Indian picture had occurred to me a long time ago. Absence of such a comprehensive picture is a major reason for a weak social and political consciousness among Dalits as well as non-Dalits. But gradually the idea took a different form. I found that lay readers don’t understand numbers and don’t like to read well-researched articles. The best way to reach out to them was storytelling. As I started writing in Gujarati and sharing the idea of the book with my friends, it occurred to me that while...

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

The illusion of nuclear abundance: Why NTPC’s expansion demands public scrutiny

By Shankar Sharma* The recent news that NTPC is scouting 30 potential sites across India for a massive nuclear power expansion should be a wake-up call for every citizen. While the state-owned utility frames this as a bold stride toward a 100,000 MW nuclear capacity by 2047, a cold look at India’s nuclear saga over the last few decades suggests this ambition may be more illusory than achievable. More importantly, it carries implications that could fundamentally alter the safety, environment, and economic health of our communities.

Search This Blog