Andhra govt, Centre pushing for Polavaram project, setting aside Dalit, Adivasi rights in scheduled areas: NGO panel

An agricultural field proposed to be acquired

By A Representative
A fact-finding committee, which visited the Polavaram Multipurpose Project-affected villages in Andhra Pradesh recently, has in its preliminary report said that land acquisition for the project is being carried out "without settlement of forest rights of thousands of adivasis as per the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006, and the Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation (LARR) Act, 2013".
Also noting "problems in the allotment of land for the displaced Dalits and Adivasis, lack of grievance redressal systems, poor rehabilitation facilities and weak monitoring", the committee has said, it can confirm the "numerous complaints of legal and procedural violations, corruption and irregularities in the land acquisition and rehabilitation process."
The committee noted that it is gravely concerned over "the scale of displacement, particularly of Adivasis and Dalits in the constitutionally protected Schedule-V area", adding, "The Central government, along with the Andhra Pradesh government, must assume full responsibility to safeguard the rights and interests of all the affected people, before racing ahead with engineering works of the project."

Jointly organized by the National Alliance of People's Movements, Adivasi Sankshema Parishad, Andhra Pradesh Vyavasaya Vruttridarula Union, Rythu Swarajya Vedika (RSV), and the Human Rights Forum, the committee visited villages Errapadu and Reddygudem in Upperu panchayat, as also Vinjaram, Koida, Parentaalpalli, and Singanapalli resettlement and rehabilitation (R&R) colonies.
The committee consisted of Prafulla Samantara, recipient of the Goldman Environment Price, 2017; Sharanya Nayak, social activist from Koraput, Odisha; Babji Juvvala of the Andhra Pradesh Vyavasaya Vruttidarula Union; Kaki Madhu of the Adivasi Sankshema Parishad, Andhra Pradesh; Meera Sanghamitra, human rights activist; independent journalists Malini Subramaniam, among other.
Following an interaction with chairperson of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) and the Union water resources secretary, under whose charge the Polavaram Project is being monitored as a 100% Centrally funded project since 2014, Samantara told news person in Delhi that they have demanded "a full-fledged judicial inquiry into the nexus of middlemen and officials who are allegedly "swindling huge chunk of the rehabilitation money and the state exchequer."

R Shridhar of the Environics Trust, who accompanied him, said, Poalvaram was a classic case wherein "without an unambiguous clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) as per the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006, and public hearings in all affected areas, the project works are going ahead with least regard to the enormous scale of social and environmental impacts."
Sanghamitra told newspersons that, as per the records of Andhra Pradesh, 372 villages are slated to be submergence and a total of 1,06,798.63 acres of land in East Godavari and 51,858 acres of land in West Godavari is being acquired for the project. "The Centre, along with the recently constituted Inter-Ministerial R&R Monitoring Committee of Government of India, are legally mandated to ensure that LARR Act and FRA Act are fully implemented before acquisition and submergence".
"As the supreme constitutional custodian of the rights of adivasis in Schedule V areas, and Polavaram being a National Project, the President is directly responsible for the well-being of the one lakh adivasis in the region", said Vimalbhai of the Matu Jan Sangathan. He added, "The Centre must play a very proactive role in monitoring the overall project and not merely the engineering works."
If social worker Bapji Juvvala stated that locally they have "unearthed evidence of numerous instances of corruption, in which many middlemen, officials and political party leaders are involved", with the state government remaining "completely nonchalant", Krishnanaveni of Darbagudem panchayat noted, the state was trying to create conflict amongst adivasis by ‘rehabilitating’ some project affected adivasis on the lands of other adivasis.

Comments

The soundtrack of resistance: How 'Sada Sada Ya Nabi' is fueling the Iran war

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* The Persian track “ Sada Sada Ya Nabi ye ” by Hossein Sotoodeh has taken the world by storm. This viral media has cut across linguistic barriers to achieve cult status, reaching over 10 million views. The electrifying music and passionate rendition by the Iranian singer have resonated across the globe, particularly as the high-intensity military conflict involving Iran entered its second month in March 2026.

Kolkata dialogue flags policy and finance deficit in wetland sustainability

By A Representative Wetlands were the focus of India–Germany climate talks in Kolkata, where experts from government, business, and civil society stressed both their ecological importance and the urgent need for stronger conservation frameworks.

Beyond Lata: How Asha Bhosle redefined the female voice with her underrated versatility

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The news of iconic Asha Bhosle’s ‘untimely’ demise has shocked music lovers across the country. Asha Tai was 92 years young. Normally, people celebrate a passing at this age, but Asha Bhosle—much like another legend, Dev Anand—never made us feel she was growing old. She was perhaps the most versatile artist in Bombay cinema. Hailing from a family devoted to music, Asha’s journey to success and fame was not easy. Her elder sister, Lata Mangeshkar, had already become the voice of women in cinema, and most contemporaries like Shamshad Begum, Suraiya, and Noor Jehan had slowly faded into oblivion. Frankly, there was no second or third to Lata Mangeshkar; she became the first—and perhaps the only—choice for music directors and all those who mattered in filmmaking. Asha started her musical journey at age 10 with a Marathi film, but her first break in Hindustani cinema came with the film "Chunariya" (1948). Though she was not the first choice of ...

Lata Mangeshkar, a Dalit from Devdasi family, 'refused to sing a song' about Ambedkar

By Pramod Ranjan* An artist is known and respected for her art. But she is equally, or even more so known and respected for her social concerns. An artist's social concerns or in other words, her worldview, give a direction and purpose to her art. History remembers only such artists whose social concerns are deep, reasoned and of durable importance. Lata Mangeshkar (28 September 1929 – 6 February 2022) was a celebrated playback singer of the Hindi film industry. She was the uncrowned queen of Indian music for over seven decades. Her popularity was unmatched. Her songs were heard and admired not only in India but also in Pakistan, Bangladesh and many other South Asian countries. In this article, we will focus on her social concerns. Lata lived for 92 long years. Music ran in her blood. Her father also belonged to the world of music. Her two sisters, Asha Bhonsle and Usha Mangeshkar, are well-known singers. Lata might have been born in Indore but the blood of a famous Devdasi family...

Maoist activity in India: Weakening structures, 'shifts' in leadership, strategy and ideology

By Harsh Thakor* Recent statements by government representatives have suggested that Maoism in India has been effectively eliminated, citing the weakening of central leadership and intensified security operations. These claims follow sustained counterinsurgency efforts across key regions, including central and eastern India. However, available information from security agencies and independent observers indicates that while the organizational structure of the CPI (Maoist) has been significantly disrupted, elements of the movement remain active. Reports acknowledge the continued presence of cadres in certain forested regions such as Bastar and parts of Dandakaranya, alongside smaller, decentralized units adapting their operational strategies.

46% own nothing, 1% own 18%: The truth about India’s land inequality

By Vikas Meshram * “Agriculture is the backbone of India” — this is what we have been hearing for generations. But there is a pain hollowing out this backbone from within: the unequal distribution of land. On one hand, news of farmer suicides, indebtedness, and rural migration keeps coming; on the other, agricultural land across the country continues to concentrate in the hands of a few wealthy individuals.

From Manesar to Noida: Workers take to streets for bread, media looks away

By Sunil Kumar* Across several states in India, a workers’ movement is gathering momentum. This is not a movement born of luxury or ambition, nor a demand for power-sharing within the state. At its core lies a stark and basic plea: the right to survive with dignity—adequate food, and wages sufficient to afford it.

US study links ultra-processed diets to preterm birth, sparks concern in India

By Jag Jivan A growing body of scientific evidence linking ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption during pregnancy to adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes has sparked fresh concern among public health experts, with Indian nutrition advocates warning of serious implications for the country’s already strained maternal health landscape.

Midnight weeping: The sociology of tragic vision in Badri Narayan’s poetry

By Ravi Ranjan* Badri Narayan, a distinguished Hindi poet and social scientist, occupies a unique position in contemporary Indian intellectual life by bridging the worlds of creative literature and critical social inquiry. His poetic journey began significantly with the 1993 collection 'Saca Sune Hue Kaï Dina Hue' (Truth Heard Many Days Ago). As a social historian and cultural anthropologist, Narayan pioneered a methodological shift away from elite archives toward the oral traditions and folk myths of marginalized communities. He eventually legitimized "folk-ethnography" as a rigorous academic discipline during his tenure as Director of the G.B. Pant Social Science Institute.

Search This Blog