18,390 Narmada dam oustees "yet to be rehabilitated", as Govt of India claims it's "satisfied" with R&R

NBA protest outside Water Resources Ministry

By A Representative
A high-level civil society delegation, which met delegation Minister of Water Resources Uma Bharati, Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, Amarjit Singh and Joint Secretary Sanjay Kundu, has been told that the Narmada dam’s gates were closed down after "evaluating" the recommendations made of the environment and rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) sub-group.
Comprising of Vimal Bhai from Matu Jan Sangathan, Manoj from All-India Kisan Sabha, Madhuresh Kumar, and Himshi Singh and Uma from National Alliance of People’s Movements, the delegation was further told that they were “satisfied” with the recommendations of the two subgroups.
The delegation met the minister and officials even as NBA leader Medha Patkar alleged that the closure of the Narmada dam’s gates in Gujarat, “except two because of a technical problem”, will lead to “submergence and related forcible eviction, in effect washing off somewhere around 18390 families of 141 villages as per the Madhya Pradesh government gazette notification of May 27.”
Patkar, in an email alert to Counterview, said, the actual numbers are at the highest flood level are “much higher as per field surveys”, yet Vijay Rupani, chief minister of Gujarat and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have “announced a large celebration at the dam site at the end of July and Narmada Yatra across Gujarat.”
What is shocking is, said Patkar, the Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan “hasn't uttered a word, rather has given silent consent to take a toll on more than 2.5 lakh in the submergence area.”
The Government of India response came even as the delegation sought copies of the recommendations by the sub-groups “so that inaccuracies be exposed and brought to the notice”, a Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) source, which organized the civil society meeting at the ministry, said.

It added, “The delegation told the minister and the government officials that the Ministry was ‘willfully’ choosing to read the Supreme Court judgment ‘in a certain light’ neglecting ‘the complete failure to prepare R&R sites and has buckled under the political pressure.”
The delegation also sought recommendations of the report of the six teams of the Central Water Commission, which made a visit to R&R sites on June 7-9 and submitted their report on June 11. NBA said, its activists “confronted the six teams, which went to Dhar and Badwani districts, and asked them to visit certain sites; yet they dodged the activists.”

In a statement following the meeting, which was preceded by a demonstration on the ministry’s gates in Delhi, the NBA said, “It is shameful that the lives of the people affected by the dam in Madhya Pradesh are only numbers for them and there is a complete abdication of their responsibility to monitor the situation on the ground.”

All but two gates of Narmada dam closed down

“This was amply visible in the conversation between the delegation and the ministry officials, who continued to ask for numbers and names of the sites. The Ministry has every data with them and they have simply chosen to close their eyes and put the stamp on the false information given by the government of Madhya Pradesh”, the statement alleged.
Asking the minister and the secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, to “to face the people in Narmada Valley and see for themselves R&R claims”, the NBA called the closure of “undemocratic and unjust”.
“This paves the way for imminent submergence of 192 villages and one township of Madhya Pradesh this monsoon”, it said, adding, “Citing Supreme Court order of February 2017, the decision has been taken to close down the gates without verifying actual ground conditions in Madhya Pradesh.”
Pointing out that “the claims of the almost complete disbursement of the compensation, as per the Supreme Court judgment, is not true, since a number of applications are still pending in front of the Grievance Redressal Authority in Madhya Pradesh”, the NBA said, “In these matters, the claims of the project affected families for disbursement of the appropriate amount for the land lost hasn’t been settled yet.”

Comments

Grueling summer ahead: Cuttack’s alarming health trends and what they mean for Odisha

By Sudhansu R Das The preparation to face the summer should begin early in Odisha. People in the state endure long, grueling summer months starting from mid-February and extending until the end of October. This prolonged heat adversely affects productivity, causes deaths and diseases, and impacts agriculture, tourism and the unorganized sector. The social, economic and cultural life of the state remains severely disrupted during the peak heat months.

Stronger India–Russia partnership highlights a missed energy breakthrough

By N.S. Venkataraman* The recent visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to India was widely publicized across several countries and has attracted significant global attention. The warmth with which Mr. Putin was received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was particularly noted, prompting policy planners worldwide to examine the implications of this cordial relationship for the global economy and political climate. India–Russia relations have stood on a strong foundation for decades and have consistently withstood geopolitical shifts. This is in marked contrast to India’s ties with the United States, which have experienced fluctuations under different U.S. administrations.

From natural farming to fair prices: Young entrepreneurs show a new path

By Bharat Dogra There have been frequent debates on agro-business companies not showing adequate concern for the livelihoods of small farmers. Farmers’ unions have often protested—generally with good reason—that while they do not receive fair returns despite high risks and hard work, corporate interests that merely process the crops produced by farmers earn disproportionately high profits. Hence, there is a growing demand for alternative models of agro-business development that demonstrate genuine commitment to protecting farmer livelihoods.

The Vande Mataram debate and the politics of manufactured controversy

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The recent Vande Mataram debate in Parliament was never meant to foster genuine dialogue. Each political party spoke past the other, addressing its own constituency, ensuring that clips went viral rather than contributing to meaningful deliberation. The objective was clear: to construct a Hindutva narrative ahead of the Bengal elections. Predictably, the Lok Sabha will likely expunge the opposition’s “controversial” remarks while retaining blatant inaccuracies voiced by ministers and ruling-party members. The BJP has mastered the art of inserting distortions into parliamentary records to provide them with a veneer of historical legitimacy.

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.

Why India must urgently strengthen its policies for an ageing population

By Bharat Dogra A quiet but far-reaching demographic transformation is reshaping much of the world. As life expectancy rises and birth rates fall, societies are witnessing a rapid increase in the proportion of older people. This shift has profound implications for public policy, and the need to strengthen frameworks for healthy and secure ageing has never been more urgent. India is among the countries where these pressures will intensify most sharply in the coming decades.

The cost of being Indian: How inequality and market logic redefine rights

By Vikas Gupta We, the people of India, are engaged in a daily tryst—read: struggle—for basic human rights. For the seemingly well-to-do, the wish list includes constant water supply, clean air, safe roads, punctual public transportation, and crime-free neighbourhoods. For those further down the ladder, the struggle is starker: food that fills the stomach, water that doesn’t sicken, medicines that don’t kill, houses that don’t flood, habitats at safe distances from polluted streams or garbage piles, and exploitation-free environments in the public institutions they are compelled to navigate.

Thota Sitaramaiah: An internal pillar of an underground organisation

By Harsh Thakor* Thota Sitaramaiah was regarded within his circles as an example of the many individuals whose work in various underground movements remained largely unknown to the wider public. While some leaders become visible through organisational roles or media attention, many others contribute quietly, without public recognition. Sitaramaiah was considered one such figure. He passed away on December 8, 2025, at the age of 65.

Bangladesh alternative more vital for NE India than Kaladan project in Myanmar

By Mehjabin Bhanu* There has been a recent surge in the number of Chin refugees entering Mizoram from the adjacent nation as a result of airstrikes by the Myanmar Army on ethnic insurgents and intense fighting along the border between India and Myanmar. Uncertainty has surrounded India's Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport project, which uses Sittwe port in Myanmar, due to the recent outbreak of hostilities along the Mizoram-Myanmar border. Construction on the road portion of the Kaladan project, which runs from Paletwa in Myanmar to Zorinpui in Mizoram, was resumed thanks to the time of relative calm during the intermittent period. However, recent unrest has increased concerns about missing the revised commissioning goal dates. The project's goal is to link northeastern states with the rest of India via an alternate route, using the Sittwe port in Myanmar. In addition to this route, India can also connect the region with the rest of India through Assam by using the Chittagon...

Search This Blog