Complete Narmada oustees' rehab to "help" Gujarat BJP win 2017 polls: Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra told

Nripendra Mishra

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi's principal secretary Nripendra Mishra is learnt to have told chief secretaries of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra to work overtime to ensure to "complete" the Resettlement and Rehabilitation (R&R) process of the Narmada dam oustees at the earliest, so that the Gujarat BJP is able to seek a "much-needed boost in terms of favourable public opinion before the Assembly elections in 2017."
According well-informed sources in Delhi, they were told at a high-level meeting on May 6, in which Gujarat chief secretary GR Aloria was also present, that the Gujarat's BJP rulers are under "severe pressure owing to the negative publicity due to the Patidar agitation in the state."
This would need to happen because, the state’s oft repeated claim that the Narmada dam has "immensely increased" the irrigation potential of the state remains a "palpable lie to this day, a fact vindicated by the still dry regions of Kutch and Saurashtra", it was suggested at the meeting.
The meeting was held amidst the anti-dam Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) alleging that the “irrigation benefit” would never reach the farmers, as waters are being increasingly diverted to industries in Gujarat.
It was suggested at the meeting that, taking advantage of the failure to complete the R&R process would remain a major hurdle for closing the Narmada dam's gates, without which far-off regions of the state would not be able to get enough waters for irrigation.
During the meeting, the Gujarat chief Secretary reportedly claimed that “Maharashtra has only around 300 families to be resettled while MP needs to settle more – around 1200 families”.
However, NBA claims, “The respective state governments have repeatedly and falsely claimed complete rehabilitation of the projected affected persons despite multiple evidences put forward by us, which has often been validated by the ongoing proceedings in front of the grievances redressal authorities GRA or numbers unearthed by Jha Commission.”
“When there are not less than 40,000 families in Madhya Pradesh who are to face the watery grave this monsoon, the chief secretary of Madhya Pradesh is seeking compliance by putting forward a demand of Rs 350 crore for rehabilitation”, the NBA said in a statement.
“In Maharashtra alone, there are about 791 declared families; a figure which was arrived at following jointly prepared report after a thorough check up of all documents in the Collectors office by both, activists from the NBA and government officials over few months in 2015”, the NBA said.
“This figure does not include the 300-400 yet to be declared oustee families, who are currently at the mercy of seeking their declaration by the Grievance Redressal Authority (GRA) chaired by a retired High Court judge, in the state”, it insisted.
NBA commented, “The State’s brute force and its unyielding arrogance asserts itself blatantly, particularly so under the current Central government’s disposition. This ego-driven project is nothing but a facade to cover decades of ‘destruction’ in the name of ‘development’ placing a veil over the inhuman treatment meted out to the people affected by this project!”
“Such a falsehood, unprecedented in history, needs to be countered not before the Courts of justice but in people’s court in which about 40,000 families, communities within the submergence area need support of all those who are courageous to challenge the present paradigm of development”, it added.

Comments

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.

Search This Blog