The Narmada flowchart

Recognition of oustees8217; rights has not been easy 8212; the NBA8217;s sustained struggle 8212; even after 1999 when the Supreme Court gave a go-ahead to the dam 8212; has helped upgrade the package several times in the three affected states. Today, it8217;s one of the best the country has offered for any developmental project.

Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh are offering more than what the Narmada Waters Dispute Tribunal NWDT award had stipulated for the oustees in 1979 see box on rehabilitation package.

Gujarat by far has put out the best package. It has also shown that if implemented well, it can actually improve the quality of lives of those displaced see Gujarat8217;s New Deal.

MADHYA Pradesh upgraded its package last year to include a substantial cash component for agricultural land that8217;ll be submerged. It was calculated on the price of best irrigated land in the state. Maharashtra includes landless labourers and major daughters and treats them on par with the original land-owner.

Raising the height of the dam from 110 mt to 121 mt, has meant that 24,000 families will be affected in 177 MP villages. Of a total of 4,286 families whose lands will be submerged, 3,879 have accepted the Special Rehabilitation Package SRP which is in cash. Among these, 1,037 have even bought land.

Of the 86 rehabilitation sites, 75 are ready for occupation. The reason why most of them lie empty and barren is because not all oustees have shifted here yet. Actually, in MP only 26 out of 177 villages will face permanent submergence. The remaining will be submerged only once in 100 years. So, the oustees from these villages feel they don8217;t have a compelling reason to shift to the rehabilitation sites just yet.

Though some infrastructural facilities like black tarred roads are yet to be built, others like panchayat ghars are falling apart simply because they are not being used.

One of the issues the NBA has raised has been that none of the oustees who have been 8216;8216;forced to accept cash8217;8217; have been rehabilitated as they have not got land-for-land as stipulated by the Supreme Court.

The state, meanwhile, says their interpretation of the cash component is this: they release only 50 per cent of the SRP money at first and the rest is released only once the oustee shows a land deed. The state went to the Grievance Redressal Authority GRA, set up by the Supreme Court, where this interpretation was upheld.

THERE is some history behind the tardy rehabilitation work in MP, which has the largest number of oustees. The former Digvijay Singh government never thought that the dam would come up 8212; in fact Singh had argued for lowering the dam8217;s height from the proposed 155 mt to 138 mt. He was also responsible for the campaign that maintains that the dam holds little benefit for MP.

But the fact is that the perennially power-starved MP stands to get 57 per cent of the 1,450 MW of power to be generated by the Sardar Sarovar Dam. In the last five years, the MP government made no effort to buy private fertile land. The 5,000 hectares that they bought in Khargone and Dhar to compensate people is actually infertile with no source of irrigation. It was natural that none of the oustees were willing to accept land there.

It was only after Digvijay Singh8217;s defeat on the bijli-paani plank that some sections in the MP government finally woke up and decided to act. They evolved a cash compensation for land which enabled oustees to buy land of their own choice. But they still refuse to take on the NBA on the rehabilitation issue.

ONCE Madhya Pradesh submits its report next week, the court may need to resolve a few issues to stem further acrimony. For instance, how should the government deal with those who are unwilling to accept the package? Also how to solve the problem of soaring land prices and the case of some oustees who after paying off their debts are unable to buy fertile land.

Then there is the issue of major sons. The Supreme Court decided last year that MP has to provide the same package to all major sons and people affected by temporary submergence. This led to another logistical nightmare. It meant that everybody who was 18 on the date of notification for acquiring land for submergence is entitled to a relief package.

The practical hurdles are many. The Action Taken Report is not given to the Gram Panchayats. The GRA has in fact admitted that it does not have the manpower to physically attend to complaints. They have now even stopped visiting certain areas for fear of being manhandled.

All this has bred a lot of resentment, an emotion the NBA is trying to cash in on.

8212; with inputs from Milind Ghatwai

REHABILITATION PACKAGE
MADHYA PRADESH

8226; Displaced family will have an option of rehabilitation either in Gujarat or in the home state

8226; Every displaced family whose more than 25 per cent of land holding is acquired, is entitled to a minimum of 2 hectares

8226; If land is not acceptable, then there is a Special Rehabilitation Package SRP which is basically cost of land in cash calculated on the cost of the best irrigable land

8226; Displaced family shall be entitled for allotment for a 60215;90 free plot in a developed resettlement site

8226; Encroachers before 1987 to be treated as

landholders

8226; SC/ST Landless PAFS will be entitled to Rs 49,300 as grant. For other landless PAFs, it8217;s Rs 33,150

GUJARAT

8226; Five acres agricultural land to each project affected family for one acre lost

8226; A housing plot measuring 502 mt

8226; Rs 45,000 cash assistance for constructing a house

8226; Rs 4,500 subsistence allowance when the family shifts to the house in the resettlement colony

8226; Rs 7,000 for buying agricultural equipment including bullock

8226; Rs 750 resettlement grant

8226; Each of the major sons of PAFs also eligible for the package

Facilities to be provided at rehabilitation sites

8226; One primary school for 100 families

8226; One panchayat ghar

8226; One dispensary for every 500 families

8226; One seed store for every 500 families

8226; One children8217;s park for every 500 families

8226; One village pond

8226; Drinking water well for every 50 families

8226; Each colony to be linked to the main road