Skip to main content

Farmers' activists "attacked" for protesting against MP power plant: Land acquisition

 
Five farmers’ activists, including secretary of the Kisan Sangharsh Samiti (KSS), Sajje Chandravanshi, were reportedly “brutally attacked” in village Chaunsara of district Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh. The incident, said National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), the apex body of tens of mass organizations across India, took place November 14, 2015 when the villagers of the area were protesting against the construction of Adani – Pench Power Project.
Resistance to the project has been going on for the “past many years due to forcible land acquisition, water diversion from Pench and environmental illegalities that the project proponents have deployed to construct the environmentally damaging 1,320 megawatt (2 x 665 MW) coal-fired power station”, the NAPM, which is led by well-known social activist Medha Patkar, has alleged.
“It is important to note that this is not the first time that KSS activists were attacked”, the NAPM said, adding, “A similar attack took place on May 22, 2010 where advocate Aradhana Bhargav and Dr Sunilam faced assault.”
Then, in 2012, Medha Patkar and 21 KSS activists were arrested in a November night by police in Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh as part of a police clampdown on protests against the water diversion project of Pench Power Plant in the district.
“Instead of bringing perpetrators to trial, police harassed the villagers a few months ago when the village meeting held in Chandravanshi’s house was forcibly stopped and the ‘pandal’ was dismantled”, NAPM said. “Police also picked up the innocent indigenous tent maker to further dampen the spirit of the people who are bravely fighting for their rights in the Supreme Court and in their villages.”
The NAPM claimed, “The power station received environmental clearance in 2012, which was legally challenged in 2013 by villagers. Proceedings before the National Green Tribunal were stayed by the Supreme Court on January 6, 2014.”
Despite this, it said, “In April 2014 it was reported that a barricade had been built on a public road between the residents of five villages including Dhanora and Chaunsara, and the Adani Pench Power Ltd.”
Pointing towards another threat that looming large over 31 villagers – of displacement due to the proposed dam on Pench river, even as completely submerging six villages – the NAPM said, the total area to be submerged is estimated to be 5,607 hectares. “The dam will provide uninterrupted water to the plant at the cost of irrigation and drinking water for local populations”, NAPM contended.
The petitioners in the case against the project, Medha Patkar, Aradhana Bhargav and Chandravanshi, have stated that the Environmental Clearance (EC) was obtained by the Adani Pench Power Ltd in October 2012 “through falsification, concealment and misrepresentation of facts and information”, the NAPM said, adding, “The Ministry has overlooked the blatant violations of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006 at nearly every stage of the EC process by the various respondents.”
According to NAPM, “Land for a thermal power plant was acquired almost 25 years ago by the then Madhya Pradesh State Electricity Board (MPSEB), which was later transferred to the Adani Power Limited.” Yet, “The project was not started and the physical possession remained with the farmers, who had been tilling the land till the time they were forcefully displaced by the company.
Worse, NAPM said, “Construction activity of the project commenced as early as in March, 2010, prior to grant of environmental clearance and although the commencement of the construction was brought to the notice of the state and Central authorities, no action was taken against them.”

Comments

TRENDING

When Pakistanis whispered: ‘end military rule’ — A Moscow memoir

During the recent anti-terror operation inside Pakistan by the Government of India, called Operation Sindoor — a name some feminists consider patently patriarchal, even though it’s officially described as a tribute to the wives of the 26 husbands killed in the terrorist strike — I was reminded of my Moscow stint, which lasted for seven long years, from 1986 to 1993.

Revisiting Gijubhai: Pioneer of child-centric education and the caste debate

It was Krishna Kumar, the well-known educationist, who I believe first introduced me to the name — Gijubhai Badheka (1885–1939). Hailing from Bhavnagar, known as the cultural capital of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, Gijubhai, Kumar told me during my student days, made significant contributions to the field of pedagogy — something that hasn't received much attention from India's education mandarins. At that time, Kumar was my tutorial teacher at Kirorimal College, Delhi University.

Tracking a lost link: Soviet-era legacy of Gujarati translator Atul Sawani

The other day, I received a message from a well-known activist, Raju Dipti, who runs an NGO called Jeevan Teerth in Koba village, near Gujarat’s capital, Gandhinagar. He was seeking the contact information of Atul Sawani, a translator of Russian books—mainly political and economic—into Gujarati for Progress Publishers during the Soviet era. He wanted to collect and hand over scanned soft copies, or if possible, hard copies, of Soviet books translated into Gujarati to Arvind Gupta, who currently lives in Pune and is undertaking the herculean task of collecting and making public soft copies of Soviet books that are no longer available in the market, both in English and Indian languages.

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

A sector under siege? War and real estate: Navigating uncertainty in India's expanding market

I was a little surprised when I received an email alert from a top real estate consultant, Anarock Group , titled "Exploring War’s Effects on Indian Real Estate—When Conflict Meets Concrete," authored by its regional director and head of research, Dr. Prashant Thakur. I had thought that the business would wholeheartedly support what is considered a strong response to the dastardly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Operation Sindoor. 

Adani Group a key player in Indo-Israel defence cooperation: Tel Aviv daily

Said to be one of the most influential Israeli dailies, "Haaretz" (literally: News of the Land) has identified the Adani Group—known to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi—as one of the key Indian business houses engaged in defence cooperation with Israel. Pointing out that India supplied the Israeli military with Hermes 900 drones, the daily reported that this advanced aerial vehicle came off “the production line in a factory set up in Hyderabad, as part of the cooperation between the Israeli Elbit and India's Adani Group.”

Environmental concern? Global NGO leads campaign urging banks to cut ties with Odisha steel project

A decade after the withdrawal of the South Korean multinational POSCO from Odisha following large-scale protests, questions remain about whether India-based JSW Steel, which took over the project, can successfully revive the 13.2 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) steel plant and coal-fired power plant. POSCO initiated the project in 2005 but exited in 2017 due to sustained local opposition.

Despite Hindutva hold claim, 18% Hindus in US don't want to be identified with Hinduism!

Scanning through news items on the Google News app on my mobile — which is what I do almost every morning — I came across a story published on India.com, which I found somewhat misleading. The headline said, "Muslim population drops significantly in THIS country as over 25% Muslims leave Islam due to…, the country is…"

Beyond Indus water treaty suspension: A 'nationalist' push despite harsh climate realities

The suspension of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) appears to have pushed the middle classes, at least in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state, Gujarat, further towards what the powers-that-be would consider—a "positive" direction. As usual, during my morning walk, I tried talking with a neighbour about what impact it would have. Ignoring what is widely considered a "security lapse," this person, who had just returned after buying milk, compared the Modi move with Trump.