Kamal Nath govt 'not objecting' to Gujarat decision to fill up Narmada dam, regrets NBA

Kamal Nath

Counterview Desk
The Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), in a letter to the Madhya Pradesh government, has said that the protecting of the rights of the people affected by the Sardar Sarovar dam is the responsibility of the State government, which should take action as per as already decided during talks with NBA, pointing out that the steps taken by Narmada officials as also chief minister Kamal Nath are not “not in accordance assurances.”

NBA note:

Amidst the chaos of illegal submergence in Narmada Valley, the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) has written a letter to the Madhya Pradesh government demanding concrete action for the protection of the rights of the affected people in the state.
It is worth mentioning that while appealing to Medha Patkar and other affected people to end their hunger strike, the state government had accepted that thousands of families are yet to be rehabilitated in the submergence area and that they are against the full filling of the Sardar Sarovar dam.
But recently, the steps taken by additional chief secretary and deputy chairman of the Narmada Valley Development Authority (NVDA) Gopal Reddy and chief minister Kamal Nath in their letters written to the Central government are not in accordance with these assurances. That is why the movement has written a letter to the government, in the name of Gopal Reddy, today.
The state government should stop using false data. The letter states that in the meeting held on August 24, 2019 with the Madhya Pradesh chief secretary, the NBA had emphasized that the present government has also continued to use false figures of the previous government.
It is worth mentioning that in its letter dated May 27, 2019 sent by the government’s own Narmada Control Authority (NCA), only 6,000 families from 76 villages in Dhar district were claimed to be affected.

The previous government cheated the affected people and left out Alirajpur, Barwani and Khargone districts completely. However, now the government has improved the number of affected villages to 178 and said a survey will be conducted to find out the number of affected families. The State
government should now take action as per the plan's they have set themselves.
But, the State government has not done anything till now to protect the rights of the victims of illegal submergence. It has raised only such objections in the letters to the NCA and the Union Minister of Water Power such as that the Gujarat government raised the water level to 134.50 meters on August 31, instead of any date in September.

The State government has not done anything till now to protect the rights of the victims of illegal submergence

The government has not objected to the dam filling up to the full reservoir level. This step of the State government is against its declared role for protecting the interests of farmers, tribals, Kewat-Kahars, potters, cattlemen, and landless labourers, who are being immersed in rehabilitation.
The State government has not objected to the dam filling up to the full level. This step is against the declared role of the State government in protecting the interests of farmers, tribals, Kewat-Kahars, potters, cattlemen, landless laborers who are being immersed in rehabilitation.
All the same, it is the responsibility of the government to protect the basic, human and Constitutional rights of the affected people by limiting the water level to 122 meters till proper and complete rehabilitation of all the affected people.
In the letter by the NBA, the additional chief secretary has been reminded that the NCA is still considering the same false affidavits of the previous government as showing the zero balance of rehabilitation.
This forgery should be dismissed with relevant and reliable facts based on the ground reality. It seems that the concerned authorities are presenting the old baseless facts without informing the chief secretary, the minister of the department and the chief minister, which is violating the rights of the affected population.
The government is to be held accountable in an unpleasant situation. In the letter, it has been demanded that the government play an effective role at the ground level for the protection of the rights of the victims of this illegal submergence and have not been rehabilitated yet.
If the State government does not take it seriously then the creation of water tombstones of living communities are certain. In such a situation, it will have to answer every big and small question related to its role in protecting the interests of the affected and legal accountability.

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