Listen to grievances of Narmada dam oustees, provide amenities to rehab sites in 15 says, MP High Court orders

NBA activists at NCA office in Indore

By A Representative
Even as hundreds of oustees protested at the Narmada Control Authority (NCA) office in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, demanding "just rehabilitation" to the Sardar Sarovar dam's project affected families (PAFs), top Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader Medha Patkar and advocates supporting her argued in the state High Court that 50% of PAFs have not received the packages they are entitled to.
They said this at the High Court bench in Indore, which heard the writ petition related to the non-compliance of the Supreme Court order dated February 8, 2017, filed by Narmada dam oustees of the Narmada Valley.

Arguing on behalf of NBA, they countered the claim of the state government that the rehabilitation of the dam oustees was complete, and civic amenities, mandatory to be provided to all oustees under the Narmada Water Dispute Tribunal

Award (NWDTA) are "existing, functional and available."
Also disputing the claim that the new packages ordered by the Supreme Court, of Rs 60 lakh and 15 lakh to those belonging to different categories of oustees, has been disbursed, they said, the government authorities on their own on "reduced the number of PAFs from 1,358 to 993". Worse, in some government affidavits the mentioned is even lower, 943 PAFs, they added.

Calling it a "contempt of the court", Patkar, who appeared as intervener herself and narrated in brief the situation on the ground, said that the in the amenities at 88 resettlement sites, as shown in the documents through glossy photographs, do not show "details of no drainage around the roads, bridged drains and pipes."
The NBA,which submitted its comments on the photographs of certain sites, said that the buildings which are constructed with colours put up recently are in dilapidated condition, if seen from within, adding, the houses are "structurally weak as it reported in details by the MANIT-IIT report which was done with detailed investigations for the Justice Jha commission."

"The MANIT-IIT investigation shows that many of the buildings are to be demolished and rebuilt which was not done over three years since the report was submitted and eight years since the dam work was stayed", NBA said, adding, "Even the water treatment plants from which the authority has claimed water is taken for a large village like Nisarpur is not truly reported."
"About 60% pipelines not yet placed in Nisarpur resettlement sites reserved for the families of villages. It is very obvious that the claims are not truthful", it said, adding, even the size of the house plots allocated to the oustees is "one-third of the size accepted by NWDTA."
On being told that 40 PAFs who had approached the Grievances Redressal Authority (GRA) have not even been heard, the division bench of Justices PK Jaiswal and Virendra Singh asked GRA to investigation into the complaint applications and pass, adding, civic amenities should be mandatorily provided at the rehabilitation sites within 15 days time.
Former general advocate Anand Mohan Mathur pleaded the case on behalf of the writ petitioners and said that the situation is critical and when the Prime Minister is celebrating his victory on completing the dam on September 17, the dead bodies of the Madhya Pradesh farmers would be "gifted for the ceremony."

Comments

From plagiarism to proxy exams: Galgotias and systemic failure in education

By Sandeep Pandey* Shock is being expressed at Galgotias University being found presenting a Chinese-made robotic dog and a South Korean-made soccer-playing drone as its own creations at the recently held India AI Impact Summit 2026, a global event in New Delhi. Earlier, a UGC-listed journal had published a paper from the university titled “Corona Virus Killed by Sound Vibrations Produced by Thali or Ghanti: A Potential Hypothesis,” which became the subject of widespread ridicule. Following the robotic dog controversy coming to light, the university has withdrawn the paper. These incidents are symptoms of deeper problems afflicting the Indian education system in general. Galgotias merely bit off more than it could chew.

Covishield controversy: How India ignored a warning voice during the pandemic

Dr Amitav Banerjee, MD * It is a matter of pride for us that a person of Indian origin, presently Director of National Institute of Health, USA, is poised to take over one of the most powerful roles in public health. Professor Jay Bhattacharya, an Indian origin physician and a health economist, from Stanford University, USA, will be assuming the appointment of acting head of the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), USA. Bhattacharya would be leading two apex institutions in the field of public health which not only shape American health policies but act as bellwether globally.

The 'glass cliff' at Galgotias: How a university’s AI crisis became a gendered blame game

By Mohd. Ziyaullah Khan* “She was not aware of the technical origins of the product and in her enthusiasm of being on camera, gave factually incorrect information.” These were the words used in the official press release by Galgotias University following the controversy at the AI Impact Summit in Delhi. The statement came across as defensive, petty, and deeply insensitive.

Growth without justice: The politics of wealth and the economics of hunger

By Vikas Meshram* In modern history, few periods have displayed such a grotesque and contradictory picture of wealth as the present. On one side, a handful of individuals accumulate in a single year more wealth than the annual income of entire nations. On the other, nearly every fourth person in the world goes to bed hungry or half-fed.

Thali, COVID and academic credibility: All about the 2020 'pseudoscientific' Galgotias paper

By Jag Jivan The first page image of the paper "Corona Virus Killed by Sound Vibrations Produced by Thali or Ghanti: A Potential Hypothesis" published in the Journal of Molecular Pharmaceuticals and Regulatory Affairs , Vol. 2, Issue 2 (2020), has gone viral on social media in the wake of the controversy surrounding a Chinese robot presented by the Galgotias University as its original product at the just-concluded AI summit in Delhi . The resurfacing of the 2020 publication, authored by Dharmendra Kumar , Galgotias University, has reignited debate over academic standards and scientific credibility.

Conversion laws and national identity: A Jesuit response response to the Hindutva narrative

By Rajiv Shah A recent book, " Luminous Footprints: The Christian Impact on India ", authored by two Jesuit scholars, Dr. Lancy Lobo and Dr. Denzil Fernandes , seeks to counter the current dominant narrative on Indian Christians , which equates evangelisation with conversion, and education, health and the social services provided by Christians as meant to lure -- even force -- vulnerable sections into Christianity.

'Serious violation of international law': US pressure on Mexico to stop oil shipments to Cuba

By Vijay Prashad In January 2026, US President Donald Trump declared Cuba to be an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to US security—a designation that allows the United States government to use sweeping economic restrictions traditionally reserved for national security adversaries. The US blockade against Cuba began in the 1960s, right after the Cuban Revolution of 1959 but has tightened over the years. Without any mandate from the United Nations Security Council—which permits sanctions under strict conditions—the United States has operated an illegal, unilateral blockade that tries to force countries from around the world to stop doing basic commerce with Cuba. The new restrictions focus on oil. The United States government has threatened tariffs and sanctions on any country that sells or transports oil to Cuba.

Development at what cost? The budget's blind spot for the environment

By Raj Kumar Sinha* The historical ills in the relationship between capital and the environment have now manifested in areas commonly referred to as the "environmental crisis." This includes global warming, the destruction of the ozone layer, the devastation of tropical forests, mass mortality of fish, species extinction, loss of biodiversity, poison seeping into the atmosphere and food, desertification, shrinking water supplies, lack of clean water, and radioactive pollution.

Big promises, limited delivery? Rekha Gupta's first year as Delhi CM

By Mohd. Ziyaullah Khan* Delhi has witnessed women at the helm before, each leaving behind a distinct political and administrative imprint on the national capital. From diplomacy to development, the city's past female chief ministers shaped governance in their own ways. As Rekha Gupta completes one year in office, the question arises: has her tenure lived up to her ambitious promises? After her first year, Gupta appears to have made tall claims but delivered little since taking the oath of office. Despite coming from a background in student politics, her report card as Delhi chief minister is far from impressive. She seems to understand the nuances of politics, yet she is often seen generating considerable buzz without substantial delivery on the ground.

Search This Blog