Narmada dam oustees: Madhya Pradesh govt suffers setback, as High Court insists on land compensation

By A Representative
In a major setback to the Madhya Pradesh (MP) government, which had been offering cash compensation against the land lost by the oustees of Gujarat’s Narmada dam, the High Court’s Indore bench has ruled that those who had received the first cash installment would be entitled to land compensation.
Termed special rehabilitation package or SRP, the cash-for-land formula was worked by Gujarat government bureaucrats more than a decade ago in order to speed up completion of the Narmada dam. Gujarat officials worked out SRP because, say sources, there wasn’t enough land available in MP to be offered to the dam’s oustees.
Oustees’ rehabilitation, under the law, is a perquisite for completing the Narmada dam. Failure to rehabilitate the dam’s oustees in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra currently remains the main hurdle in putting the dam into full operation by closing its 30-odd gates, installed on it.
The MP High Court’s interim ruling is likely to benefit as many as 1,505 oustee families, who were offered first installment of the cash compensation. Operating through the grievances redressal authority (GRA), formed to listen to the oustees’ complaints, the state government had decided against giving land, saying they must get cash compensation alone.
A large number oustees, mostly tribals, say activists of the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), had found that amount offered to them – just about Rs 2.79 lakh – as compensation is ridiculously insufficient to buy up 5 acres of land.
The interim order has come in a case filed by tribal farmer Mohan Mehtab, who had pleaded with the court that, as he jad refused the second cash installment, he should be offered land. The High Court upheld Mehtab’s plea, keeping the next hearing for February 14, insisting, all those who did not get the second installment should be entitled to get land.
The High Court’s interim order comes just about two months after the MP government issued a controversial notice to hundreds of oustees belonging to tens of villages of Badwani and Dhar districts of MP, stating that, since they had not accepted the land allocated to them by the state’s Land Bank, their “eligibility for alternative agricultural land has exhausted.”
Issues by MP's rehabilitation officer of the Narmada Valley Development Authority (NVDA), the notice stated that if the oustees did not collect cash compensation “within 2-4 days” (i.e. by December 30, 2016), which is up to Rs 3 lakh, they would be deemed as rehabilitated, and the amount would be deposited with the Revenue Department.
Questioning the compensation amount, NBA wonders, “The cost of 5 acres irrigated land at present is estimated to be between Rs 50 lakh-2 crore. If land can be bought for Rs 2.50-3 lakh, then why doesn’t the authority buy it itself and then allocate it?”
An honorary member of GRA, which has been hearing the plea against such little compensation, has been quoted as saying, “Where will we provide the land from? It has become so expensive. If you can’t buy the land, then buy a tractor with that money. You won’t get land even in ten years.”

Comments

Fair prices, fresh produce: Vegetable market opens in Rajasthan tribal village

By Vikas Meshram* On 18 March 2026, the tribal village of Sajjangarh in southern Rajasthan witnessed the grand and dignified inauguration of a new vegetable market (mandi). Established through the tireless joint efforts of the Krushi Avam Adivasi Swaraj Sangathan (Bhilkuaan) and Vaagdhara, under the active leadership of the Gram Panchayat of Sajjangarh, the market is being hailed as a cornerstone for local self-governance, self-reliance, and a sustainable rural economy.

When democracy becomes a performance: The Tibetan exile experience

By Tseten Lhundup* I was born in Bylakuppe, one of the largest Tibetan settlements in southern India. From childhood, I grew up in simple barracks, along muddy roads, and in fields with limited resources. Over the years, I have watched our democratic system slowly erode. Observing the recent budget session of the 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, these “democratic procedures” appear grand and orderly on the surface, yet in reality they amount to little more than empty formalities. The parliamentarians seem largely disconnected from the everyday struggles faced by ordinary exiled Tibetans like us.

Study links sanctions to 500,000 deaths annually leading to rise in global backlash

By Bharat Dogra International opinion is increasingly turning against the expanding burden of sanctions imposed on a growing number of countries. These measures are contributing to humanitarian crises, intensifying domestic discord, and heightening international tensions, thereby increasing the risks of conflicts and wars.

Ex-IAS Atanu Chakraborty and a tale of two different Gujarat vision documents

By Rajiv Shah The likely appointment of Atanu Chakraborty as HDFC Bank chairman interested me for several reasons, but above all because I have interacted with him closely during my more than 14 year stint in Gandhinagar for the “Times of India”. One of the few decent Gujarat cadre bureaucrats, Chakraborty, belonging to the 1985 IAS batch, at least till I covered Sachivalaya was surely above controversies. He loved to remain faceless, never desired publicity, was professional to the core, and never indulged in loose talk. When he neared retirement, which happened in April 2020, first there were rumours in Sachivalaya that he would be appointed SEBI chairman, and then there was talk he would be chairman (or was it CEO?) of Gujarat International Finance Tec (GIFT) City (a dream project of Narendra Modi as Gujarat chief minister, which as Prime Minister Modi wants to promote, come what may). But, for some strange reasons, and I don’t know why, none of this happened, despite the fact...

Weaponised bravery, institutionalised cowardice as the engine of authoritarianism

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak* The insidious politics of crony capitalism is accelerating at an unprecedented pace, aided by the reckless expansion of artificial intelligence and other technologies designed not to liberate but to dominate, domesticate, and dehumanise societies. Alongside this, an illiberal politics of cowardice is emerging—serving as an accomplice to dehumanisation amid growing imperialist wars and conflicts across the world. Death in distant lands no longer stirs conscience. The push-button culture of digital screens has transformed social media into a disconnected, individualised, Hobbesian space, where the puritan pursuit of self-interest is elevated as the essence of human existence.

Moon missions and manholes: Development's drumbeat drowns out deaths in sewers

By Vikas Meshram* We proudly narrate the story of our nation’s progress. On every platform, we speak of the success of Chandrayaan , Digital India , and our rapidly growing economy. But behind this radiant picture lies a darkness—the world of sanitation workers who descend into sewers, risking their lives. This darkness is not confined to the drains alone; it runs deep within the conscience of our society.

Witnessing Iran beyond propaganda: Truth, war, and the path beyond western paradigm

By Naile Manjarrés On June 23, 2025—marked as the 2nd of Tir, 1404, on the Persian calendar—a ceasefire between Iran and Israel was announced. This "night of the decree" shifted the trajectory of global affairs; although the world may appear unchanged on the surface, we have yet to fully grasp its impact.

Best left-handed cricket XI of all-time: Could it beat an all-time right-hander XI?

By Harsh Thakor* This is my all-time left-handers Test XI. It could arguably give an all-time right-handers XI a strong run for its money, boasting the likes of Garry Sobers, Brian Lara, Wasim Akram, and Adam Gilchrist.

Dhurandhar: The Revenge — Blurring the line between fiction and political narrative

By Mohd. Ziyaullah Khan* "Dhurandhar: The Revenge" does not wait to be remembered; it arrives almost on the heels of its predecessor, released on March 19, 2026, just months after the first film’s December 2025 debut. The speed of its arrival feels less like creative urgency and more like calculated timing—cinema responding not to storytelling rhythm but to the emotional climate of its audience. Director Aditya Dhar, along with actor Yami Gautam, appears acutely aware of this moment and how to harness it.

Search This Blog