Govt of India "declares": No land-based compensation to 38,000 Narmada dam oustees of Madhya Pradesh

By A Representative
In a major admission, the Government of India has officially suggested that none of the 37,754 Madhya Pradesh families living in 192 villages, to be affected by the submergence because of the Narmada Dam in Gujarat, would be given land in lieu of land which they would lose.
In reply to a letter by Medha Patkar, leader of Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) fighting for land rights for tens of thousands of oustees in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Gujarat, the Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India, has indicated that land as a form of compensation is being provided only to Maharashtra and Gujarat oustees.
The reply claims, the resettlement and rehabilitation (R&R) package offered to the project affected families (PAFs) is more liberal than the one originally announced by the Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal (NWDT) Award for the Narmada project, worked out more than three decades ago.
The reply follows Patkar's letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding rehabilitation of all Narmada dam oustees in the three states before raising the dam height to 139 metres. The Prime Minister's Office forwarded the letter to the Ministry of Water Resources for reply.
The reply says, the Government of Maharashtra was "allotting one hectare (ha) of agricultural land free of cost to each landless oustee, and 2 ha of agricultrual land to major son and unmarried major daugthers to all category of oustees, besides a subsistence allowance of Rs 4,500 per oustee."
As for Gujarat government, the reply states, it is "allotting 2 ha of land to landless agricultural labourers, each major sons of all category of oustees with January 1, 1987 as cut-off date, and free core house/financial assistance of Rs 45,000 for construction of core house to the oustee families and their major sons."
However, if the reply is any indication, there is no, and would not be any, land-based compensation to the Madhya Pradesh oustees. Thus, the reply says, the Madhya Pradesh government has "increased" the rehabilitation grant from Rs 11,000 to Rs 18,700 for scheduled caste(SC)/schuedled tribe (ST)/landless agricultural labourers/small and marginal farmers, and from Rs 5,500 to Rs 9,350 for other labourers and landless families."
It further says, "The liberalization has also been made to purchase the productive assets. Accordingly, the amount to purchase the productive assets has been increased from Rs 29,000 to Rs 49,000 for SC/ST/landless agricultural labouers and from Rs 19,500 to Rs 33,150 for other labourers and landless families."
The reply does not mention any possibility of paying land compensation to the Narmada dam oustees. No reason for this has been given.
Rejecting the Ministry of Water Resources reply, the NBA has said, the so-called special rehabilitation package of Madhya Pradesh gives cash in lieu of land, promoted by the state government since 2001 and then 2005 "has resulted in a few thousand fake registries."
Pointing out that 686 of these have been admitted by the Madhya Pradesh government itself, NBA says,"Whatever number to be proved by the Jha Commision report is that of families who are yet to receive land. There are
hundreds of others who received only half of the cash but are demanding
land ready to return the cash."
The Jha Commission report, which is said to have endorsed large-scale corruption in rehabilitating oustees, has not been made public.
NBA underscores, "This has left thousands of families in Madhya Pradesh deprived of the same", and yet the Ministry of Water Resources reply has "no discussion of the same", adding, "Not more than 50 PAFs in Madhya Pradesh are allotted land in the state."
Even those who petitioned to courts for demanding land have not been provided with house plots in R&R sites "near their allotted agricultural land", NBA says, adding, "There are hundreds who are allotted house plots near the original village while land is 150 to 200 kms away! All of them continue to struggle, staying put in the original villages."
Critiquing even the "liberal R&R policy", NBA says, "What is not pointed out is that in Maharashtra as well as in the hilly communities of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, almost 100 per cent of PAFs are adivasis -- many of whom have been categorized as landless only since they don't have record of rights but hold and cultivate land."
The Ministry of Water Resources claims that of the total 45,496 PAFs to be rehabilitated, all but 310 are left out -- none in Madhya Pradesh, just eight in Gujarat and 302 in Maharashtra. Madhya Pradesh's 1,250 oustees, it adds, have het to be paid the second instalment the special rehabilitation package. The oustees already "resettled" are -- 37,754 in Madhya Pradesh, 4764 in Gujarat and 3878 Maharashtra.

Comments

From Kerala to Bangladesh: Lynching highlights deep social faultlines

By A Representative The recent incidents of mob lynching—one in Bangladesh involving a Hindu citizen and another in Kerala where a man was killed after being mistaken for a “Bangladeshi”—have sparked outrage and calls for accountability.

Gram sabha as reformer: Mandla’s quiet challenge to the liquor economy

By Raj Kumar Sinha* This year, the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj is organising a two-day PESA Mahotsav in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, on 23–24 December 2025. The event marks the passage of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA), enacted by Parliament on 24 December 1996 to establish self-governance in Fifth Schedule areas. Scheduled Areas are those notified by the President of India under Article 244(1) read with the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution, which provides for a distinct framework of governance recognising the autonomy of tribal regions. At present, Fifth Schedule areas exist in ten states: Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana. The PESA Act, 1996 empowers Gram Sabhas—the village assemblies—as the foundation of self-rule in these areas. Among the many powers devolved to them is the authority to take decisions on local matters, including the regulation...

When a city rebuilt forgets its builders: Migrant workers’ struggle for sanitation in Bhuj

Khasra Ground site By Aseem Mishra* Access to safe drinking water and sanitation is not a privilege—it is a fundamental human right. This principle has been unequivocally recognised by the United Nations and repeatedly affirmed by the Supreme Court of India as intrinsic to the right to life and dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution. Yet, for thousands of migrant workers living in Bhuj, this right remains elusive, exposing a troubling disconnect between constitutional guarantees, policy declarations, and lived reality.

Policy changes in rural employment scheme and the politics of nomenclature

By N.S. Venkataraman* The Government of India has introduced a revised rural employment programme by fine-tuning the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which has been in operation for nearly two decades. The MGNREGA scheme guarantees 100 days of employment annually to rural households and has primarily benefited populations in rural areas. The revised programme has been named VB-G RAM–G (Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission – Gramin). The government has stated that the revised scheme incorporates several structural changes, including an increase in guaranteed employment from 100 to 125 days, modifications in the financing pattern, provisions to strengthen unemployment allowances, and penalties for delays in wage payments. Given the extent of these changes, the government has argued that a new name is required to distinguish the revised programme from the existing MGNREGA framework. As has been witnessed in recent years, the introdu...

Aravalli at the crossroads: Environment, democracy, and the crisis of justice

By Rajendra Singh* The functioning of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has undergone a troubling shift. Once mandated to safeguard forests and ecosystems, the Ministry now appears increasingly aligned with industrial interests. Its recent affidavit before the Supreme Court makes this drift unmistakably clear. An institution ostensibly created to protect the environment now seems to have strayed from that very purpose.

Making rigid distinctions between Indian and foreign 'historically untenable'

By A Representative Oral historian, filmmaker and cultural conservationist Sohail Hashmi has said that everyday practices related to attire, food and architecture in India reflect long histories of interaction and adaptation rather than rigid or exclusionary ideas of identity. He was speaking at a webinar organised by the Indian History Forum (IHF).

'Structural sabotage': Concern over sector-limited job guarantee in new employment law

By A Representative The advocacy group Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA) has raised concerns over the passage of the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (VB–G RAM G), which was approved during the recently concluded session of Parliament amid protests by opposition members. The legislation is intended to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

'Festive cheer fades': India’s housing market hits 17‑quarter slump, sales drop 16% in Q4 2025

By A Representative Housing sales across India’s nine major real estate markets fell to a 17‑quarter low in the October–December period of 2025, with overall absorption dropping 16% year‑on‑year to 98,019 units, according to NSE‑listed analytics firm PropEquity. This marks the weakest quarter since Q3 2021, despite the festive season that usually drives demand. On a sequential basis, sales slipped 2%, while new launches contracted by 4%.

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.

Search This Blog