Jharkhand riverine terminal: 485 families 'displaced', lose land, livelihood in Sahibgunj

Counterview Desk
Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposes to inaugurate on Thursday India’s second riverine Multi-Modal terminal (MMT) at Sahibganj in Jharkhand, built at a cost of Rs 290 crore reportedly in a record time of about two years, several civil rights organizations* have said that the government has failed to address the high-profile terminal’s social and environmental concerns.
While the Government of India claims that the terminal would open up industries of Jharkhand and Bihar to the global market and provide Indo-Nepal cargo connectivity through waterways route, and some of the commodities with will be transported would include coal, stone chips, fertilizers, cement and sugar, a statement by the civil rights organizations says that the people of Sahibganj have “lost their land and are on the edge of losing their livelihood.”
The second Jal Marg Vikas Project – the first one being the MMT at Varanasi, inaugurated by the Prime Minister in November last year – has left people of the area “distressed with the process of resettlement and compensation, discrepancies in the resettlement surveys”, the statement says.

Text:

We have learnt that the Prime Minister is going to dedicate tomorrow to the nation the second riverine Multi-modal terminal at Sahibganj in Jharkhand, even when many of the concerns regarding the social and environmental impact remain to be addressed. It is claimed that the terminal has been built in record time, and certainly one of the reason is the brushing aside or neglect of these serious issue. We are deeply concerned by the neglect of these concerns by the authorities.
This terminal is second of the three Multi-modal terminals constructed under the Jal Marg Vikas Project or National Waterway-1, which is a World Bank funded project on river Ganga. These Multi-modal terminals are meant to provide link between the three modes of transport – railways, roadways and waterways. The Sahibgunj Multi-modal terminal is being pushed to open up industries of Jharkhand and Bihar to the global market and provide Indo-Nepal cargo connectivity through waterways route.
The Sahibganj terminal is built on the land (estimated requirement) of 195 acres of which 183.13 acres of main terminal and 9.24 acres for road connectivity has been fully acquired under Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (LARR) Act, 2013. The terminal is to be developed in two phases – this inauguration is for the first phase of the terminal. Around 485 families have been identified as project affected families; resettlement of many families is yet to be done.
The people of Sahibganj have lost their land and are on the edge of losing their livelihood due to the Multi-modal terminal. They are distressed with the process of resettlement and compensation, discrepancies in the resettlement surveys, and have contacted the authorities to address their issues but to no avail. Further, a freight village (industrial cum logistic park and integrated vessel repair and maintenance complex) is also proposed on 335 acres of land in contiguity with the terminal which means more displacement is being lined up.

The Multi-modal terminal is likely to have several serious adverse impacts on the environment. Firstly, the terminal will aid the transportation of domestic coal from local mines in Rajmahal areas to various thermal power plants located on the National Waterway-1 on Ganga. Other than coal, stone chips, fertilisers, and cement are other commodities which are expected to be transported through the terminal.

Serious adverse impacts on the environment are likely due to loading/unloading and storage of coal, stone chips, fertilisers, and cement

Serious adverse impacts on the environment are likely due to loading/unloading and storage of these commodities. The dredging to keep the passage to the terminal navigable, the noise and disturbance due to movement of ship, leakage of oil and lubricants, all are likely to have a serious impact on the river flora and fauna, especially the fish. Livelihoods of the fishing communities are also likely to be affected.
Given the scale of the terminal and seriousness of the adverse impacts on the environment, one would expect a strong environmental governance regime. Instead of strengthening and implementing the existing laws which require the terminal to take prior environmental clearance, Ministry of Shipping facilitated these Multi-modal terminals to circumvent the provisions of the Environment Impact Assessment Notification, 2006 and getting these terminals exempted from the need to obtain an Environmental Clearance.
We, the undersigned, who have been working on the issues related to social, environmental and economic aspects of the inland waterways programs, express serious concern at these lapses and demand the following:

To expedite the resettlement process with participation of the people of Sahebganj and as per the 2013 LARR Act.
No more land acquisition, as is proposed for a private concern, untill and unless consent of 80% affected people are taken as per the LARR Act 2013.
Before any further construction takes place nodal ministries must ensure that the MMT at Sahibgunj applies for and gets the legally mandatory environmental clearance, and a proper environment impact assessment for the Multi-modal terminal and the Freight village in Sahibganj is carried out.
A large number of people would be loosing the livelihood due to construction of this terminal and hence alternate livelihood for the small boat owners engaged in local trading and fishing be developed.

People of Jharkhand have bore the burnt of development and large scale resources have been acquired often ignoring the social and environmental concerns. We urge that Prime Minister of India do not condone the environmental violations and not inaugurate the Terminal, until all the concerns are addressed.
---
*The statement issued by: National Alliance for People’s Movements, Manthan Adhyayan Kendra, Bhumi Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, Ekal Nari Sashakti Sangathan, Adivasi Adhikar Manch, Karnpura Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, Adivasi Haq Bhumi Suraksha Morcha, JOSH, Gram Ganrajya Prakhand Samiti, Hadma Kisan Jan Sangathan, Omon Mahila Sangathan

Comments

Leslie Stuart said…

So sad to hear about Sahibgunj. The trades are also affected so bad. Mol schedule is the right choice to go when trades in the pipeline.

January 16, 2020

NYT: RSS 'infiltrates' institutions, 'drives' religious divide under Modi's leadership

By Jag Jivan A comprehensive New York Times investigation published on December 26, 2025, chronicles the rise of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) — characterized as a far-right Hindu nationalist organization — from a shadowy group founded in 1925 to the world's largest right-wing force, marking its centenary in 2025 with unprecedented influence and mainstream acceptance. Prime Minister Narendra Modi , who joined the RSS as a young boy and later became a full-time campaigner before being deputized to its political wing in the 1980s, delivered his strongest public tribute to the group in his August 2025 Independence Day address. Speaking from the Red Fort , he called the RSS a "giant river" with dozens of streams touching every aspect of Indian life, praising its "service, dedication, organization, and unmatched discipline." The report describes how the RSS has deeply infiltrated India's institutions — government, courts, police, media, and academia — ...

Domestic vote-bank politics 'behind official solidarity' with Bangladeshi Hindus

By Sandeep Pandey, Faisal Khan The Indian government has registered a protest with Bangladesh over the mob lynching of two Hindus—Deepu Chandra Das in Mymensingh and Amrit Mandal in Rajbari. In its communication, the government cited a report by the Association of Hindus, Buddhists and Christian Unity Council, which claims that more than 2,900 incidents of killings, arson, and land encroachments targeting minorities have taken place since the interim government assumed power in Bangladesh.

Dalit woman student’s death sparks allegations of institutional neglect in Himachal college

By A Representative A Dalit rights organisation has alleged severe caste- and gender-based institutional violence leading to the death of a 19-year-old Dalit woman student at Government Degree College, Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, and has demanded arrests, resignations, and an independent inquiry into the case.

From colonial mercantilism to Hindutva: New book on the making of power in Gujarat

By Rajiv Shah Professor Ghanshyam Shah ’s latest book, “ Caste-Class Hegemony and State Power: A Study of Gujarat Politics ”, published by Routledge , is penned by one of Gujarat ’s most respected chroniclers, drawing on decades of fieldwork in the state. It seeks to dissect how caste and class factors overlap to perpetuate the hegemony of upper strata in an ostensibly democratic polity. The book probes the dominance of two main political parties in Gujarat—the Indian National Congress and the BJP—arguing that both have sustained capitalist growth while reinforcing Brahmanic hierarchies.

Gig workers’ strike halts platforms, union submits demands to Labour Ministry

By A Representative India’s gig economy witnessed an partial disruption on December 31, 2025, as a large number of delivery workers, app-based service providers, and freelancers across the country participated in a nationwide strike called by the Gig & Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU). The strike, which followed days of coordinated protests, shut down major platforms including Zomato , Swiggy , Blinkit , Zepto , Flipkart , and BigBasket in several areas.

Epic war against caste system is constitutional responsibility of elected government

Edited by well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan, the book, “Bhed-Bharat: An Account of Injustice and Atrocities on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-18)” (available in English and Gujarati*) is a selection of news articles on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-2018) published by Dalit Shakti Prakashan, Ahmedabad. Preface to the book, in which Macwan seeks to answer key questions on why the book is needed today: *** The thought of compiling a book on atrocities on Dalits and thus present an overall Indian picture had occurred to me a long time ago. Absence of such a comprehensive picture is a major reason for a weak social and political consciousness among Dalits as well as non-Dalits. But gradually the idea took a different form. I found that lay readers don’t understand numbers and don’t like to read well-researched articles. The best way to reach out to them was storytelling. As I started writing in Gujarati and sharing the idea of the book with my friends, it occurred to me that while...

Celebrating 125 yr old legacy of healthcare work of missionaries

Vilas Shende, director, Mure Memorial Hospital By Moin Qazi* Central India has been one of the most fertile belts for several unique experiments undertaken by missionaries in the field of education and healthcare. The result is a network of several well-known schools, colleges and hospitals that have woven themselves into the social landscape of the region. They have also become a byword for quality and affordable services delivered to all sections of the society. These institutions are characterised by committed and compassionate staff driven by the selfless pursuit of improving the well-being of society. This is the reason why the region has nursed and nurtured so many eminent people who occupy high positions in varied fields across the country as well as beyond. One of the fruits of this legacy is a more than century old iconic hospital that nestles in the heart of Nagpur city. Named as Mure Memorial Hospital after a British warrior who lost his life in a war while defending his cou...

2025 was not just a bad year—it was a moral failure, it normalised crisis

By Atanu Roy* The clock has struck midnight. 2025 has passed, and 2026 has arrived. Firecrackers were already bursting in celebration. If this is merely a ritual, like Deepavali, there is little to comment on. Otherwise, I find 2025 to have been a dismal year, weighed down by relentless odds—perhaps the worst year I have personally witnessed.

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

Search This Blog