Well attended NBA-led rally of Narmada dam oustees in Bhopal demands: Return "illegally acquired land"

NBA-led rally in Bhopal

By A Representative
The Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), which led a well-attended rally of Narmada dam oustees of Madhya Pradesh in Bhopal, has triggered a hornet’s nest: In a letter submitted to chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan demanding justice to outees of the Narmada dam, the NBA has sought his intervention to implement the crucial section 24 of the new land acquisition Act – Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 – which says that any acquired land, if lying idle for five years, will be returned to the original owner.
Led by senior social activist Medha Patkar, the rally saw oustees declare, through NBA, that, as their land was not acquired five years prior to the date on which the law came into effect, January 1, they had “automatically become the rightful owners.” In its letter to the chief minister, however, NBA has not given any figures as to how many such oustees are there. The letter merely said, “Oustees are demanding their right. You cannot take away the ownership of their land and natural resources in the name of development.” It added, “You or the Centre cannot overlook the crucial law land acquisition law passed in Parliament.”
Contesting the Madhya Pradesh government claim that all oustees have been rehabilitated, NBA asked, “How could you allow the Narmada dam to be raised from 121.92 metres to 138.64 metres by sacrificing the rights of oustees of 193 villages?” It said, “Fake land records scam has been unearthed, and the Jha committee, appointed by the High Court, is inquiring into the matter. It is a scam worth Rs 1,000 crore. Facts suggest that thousands of oustees have neither received land nor any means of livelihood. How can the dam be allowed to be raised without the completion of the inquiry?”

Medha Patkar addressing rallyists

The letter said, apart from the landowning farmers, there are landless workers, fisherfolk, potters, others, who have lost their livelihood. They were merely offered Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000 as compensation. “How could the government take away their livelihood and offer such pittance? Rehabilitation sites built by the government are not fit for living. In such a situation, how the villagers could be asked to vacate their villages and allow their land to go into submergence by raising the Narmada dam?”
Reiterating the demand for “a complete review of the entire Sardar Sarovar project” by stopping further raising of the dam, the letter wondered, “How is it that a project, for which the Gujarat government is ready to spend Rs 90,000 crore, does not have funds to properly rehabilitate the Narmada oustees? Why is it that even 30 years after the project began being implemented, only 30 per cent of the canal network has been constructed? While four lakh hectares (ha) land is being decommanded, why is it that merely 1.5 lakh ha is being irrigated out of 18 lakh ha proposed?”
Apart from Patkar, signatories to the letter include representatives from two dozen villages which NBA claims will be going into submergence.

Comments

The soundtrack of resistance: How 'Sada Sada Ya Nabi' is fueling the Iran war

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* The Persian track “ Sada Sada Ya Nabi ye ” by Hossein Sotoodeh has taken the world by storm. This viral media has cut across linguistic barriers to achieve cult status, reaching over 10 million views. The electrifying music and passionate rendition by the Iranian singer have resonated across the globe, particularly as the high-intensity military conflict involving Iran entered its second month in March 2026.

Manufacturing, services: India's low-skill, middle-skill labour remains underemployed

By Francis Kuriakose* The Indian economy was in a state of deceleration well before Covid-19 made its impact in early 2020. This can be inferred from the declining trends of four important macroeconomic variables that indicate the health of the economy in the last quarter of 2019.

Incarceration of Prof Saibaba 'revives' the question: What is crime, who is criminal?

By Kunal Pant* In 2016, a Supreme Court Judge asked the state of Maharashtra, “Do you want to extract a pound of flesh?” The statement was directed against the state for contesting the bail plea of Delhi University Professor GN Saibaba. Saibaba was arrested in 2014, a justification for which was to prevent him from committing what the police called “anti-national activities.”

Food security? Gujarat govt puts more than 5 lakh ration cards in the 'silent' category

By Pankti Jog* A new statistical report uploaded by the Gujarat government on the national food security portal shows that ensuring food security for the marginalized community is still not a priority of the state. The statistical report, uploaded on December 24, highlights many weaknesses in implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA) in state.

Why Indo-Pak relations have been on 'knife’s edge' , hostilities may remain for long

By Utkarsh Bajpai* The past few decades have seen strides being made in all aspects of life – from sticks and stones to weaponry. The extreme case of this phenomenon has been nuclear weapons. The menace caused by nuclear weapons in the past is unforgettable. Images of Hiroshima and Nagasaki from 1945 come to mind, after the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the cities.

Modi’s Israel visit strengthened Pakistan’s hand in US–Iran truce: Ex-Indian diplomat

By Jag Jivan M. K. Bhadrakumar , a career diplomat with three decades of service in postings across the former Soviet Union, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Germany, and Turkey, has warned that the current truce in the US–Iran war is “fragile and ridden with contradictions.” Writing in his blog India Punchline , Bhadrakumar argues that while Pakistan has emerged as a surprising broker of dialogue, the durability of the ceasefire remains uncertain.

Lata Mangeshkar, a Dalit from Devdasi family, 'refused to sing a song' about Ambedkar

By Pramod Ranjan* An artist is known and respected for her art. But she is equally, or even more so known and respected for her social concerns. An artist's social concerns or in other words, her worldview, give a direction and purpose to her art. History remembers only such artists whose social concerns are deep, reasoned and of durable importance. Lata Mangeshkar (28 September 1929 – 6 February 2022) was a celebrated playback singer of the Hindi film industry. She was the uncrowned queen of Indian music for over seven decades. Her popularity was unmatched. Her songs were heard and admired not only in India but also in Pakistan, Bangladesh and many other South Asian countries. In this article, we will focus on her social concerns. Lata lived for 92 long years. Music ran in her blood. Her father also belonged to the world of music. Her two sisters, Asha Bhonsle and Usha Mangeshkar, are well-known singers. Lata might have been born in Indore but the blood of a famous Devdasi family...

'Batteries now cheap enough for solar to meet India's 90% demand': Expert quotes Ember study

By A Representative Shankar Sharma, Power & Climate Policy Analyst, has urged India’s top policymakers to reconsider the financial and ecological implications of the country’s energy transition strategy in light of recent global developments. In a letter dated April 10, 2026, addressed to the Union Ministers of Finance, Power, New & Renewable Energy, Environment, Forest & Climate Change, and the Vice Chair of NITI Aayog, with a copy to the Prime Minister, Sharma highlighted concerns over India’s ambitious plans for coal gasification and the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR).

Labour unrest in Manesar trigger tensions: Recently enacted labour codes blamed

By A Representative A civil rights coalition has expressed concern over recent developments in the industrial hub of Manesar in Haryana, where a series of labour actions and police responses have drawn attention. A statement, released by the Campaign Against State Repression (CASR), said it stood in solidarity with workers in IMT Manesar and other parts of the country, while also alleging instances of police excess during ongoing unrest.

Search This Blog