MAH.GOVT. OFFERS UNCULTIVABLE LAND; DITHERS ON LAND CHOSEN BY TRIBALS

TENTH DAY OF NARMADA LAND-RIGHT SATYAGRAHA: OUSTEES PLAN NAVNIRMAN

Training in Tree Planting, Solar Cooker, Water Harvesting, Health and Agriculture

Hundreds of displaced tribals in the Narmada valley continued the Bhoomi Hakk Satyagraha (Land-right Satyagraha) on eleventh day on Tuesday (May 18), as another attempt for finding the land for resettlement of oustees came to a naught due to the lack of political will and administrative deception. The people are demanding the immediate implementation of the decisions by the Maharashtra government for the resettlement with land before the monsoon and subsequent submergence threatening their lives due to the raising of the height of the Sardar Sarovar dam upto 110 meters.

On May 15, the Maharashtra government officials, at last, tried to show some private lands to the tribal oustees at Kukaval village. The people found the land as uncultivable and problematic. The tribals complained that the officials are deliberately dithering about the land, which they had already approved.

On Tuesday (May 12), the forest department slammed a notice on Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), against entering in the forest land. Medha Patkar in turn alleged that the forest department had been violating the law and had allowed over 6800 hectares of forest to be drowned in the dam.

The Satyagraha by over 200 families from the first villages from Maharashtra, threatened with the Sardar Sarovar dam and its imminent submergence due to the raising of dam height upto 110 m. during this monsoon, along with the activists and supporters of Narmada Bachao Andolan was launched on May 8, near the forest land between Somaval-Alivihir (Dist. Nandurbar). They made it clear that, the Government must come forward with some piece of land where the more than 1500 families could be resettled before the onset of monsoon, in a fixed time frame. If this was not done, they declared that,

"There will be no option left for us but to occupy this piece of degraded forest land, as our villages are bound to be submerged once the dam work reaches 110 meters."

Nav-Nirman

Despite heavy downpour for many days and nights and the tension created by vested political interests, the Satyagrahis continued with their non-violent agitation and they have also started preparing for constructive work (nav-nirman). Narmada tribals are determined to establish the Narmada Jeevan Gaon (Narmada Village for Life). Veteran social worker and former bureaucrat R.V. Bhuskute started his training in land mapping, surveying and demarcation. The team of the Masum, a people's health organization, held the camp for women's health. Activities regarding the education and house-construction are continuing. The Dhule support group of engineers and social activists donated a large solar cooker for Satyagraha. Ms. Nancy Gaikwad from Shoshit Jan Andolan in Maharashtra, held sessions on land rights of tribals. A team of activists from anti-Coca-Cola struggle in Plachimada (Kerala) and comrades from Delhi, Madhya Praedsh, Delhi and other parts of India are arriv ing in batches.

To allay the apprehension of some of the environmentalists, the NBA made it clear that, "there is hardly a tree on this piece of land, which officially belongs to the Forest Department. "The trees have been chopped down long ago. The NBA has always maintained that instead of felling trees, we will plant and rejuvenate new forest, and that is why for this camp we have brought kerosene and bamboo so that we do not disturb the local ecology. The forest is best preserved, not by the Forest Department, but by the Adivasis", it asserted.

The Maharashtra police and administration paraded the some tribals from adjoining areas to oppose the Narmada tribals. These tribals, instigated by the local politician of the Bharatiya Janata Party and encouraged by the police and administration to portray the Satyagraha merely as tribal versus tribal feud. The NBA has made it clear that the Narmada tribals do not wish to fight with their tribal brethren and together they should fight with the government for the land rights and titles. The state government, if it wishes, should other suitable and large chunk of land, for a community based resettlement of all affected villagers according to the provisions of the Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal (NWDT).

Background

Over 1, 500 families from Maharashtra and 10,000 families from Madhya Pradesh are in the submergence zone of 110 m. Despite the repeated attempts by the Andolan like dharna and indefinite fast in Nashik in May 2003 or in January 2004 at Mumbai, and inspite of recommendations by state government appointed committees like Justice Daud committee, Task Force Committee, there is practically no progress on resettlement count. Maharashtra government has avoided implementation of the Cabinet^Òs own decisions taken on January 21 and 28, whereby the state was to update its records including the left out families and not to allow the dam height to go beyond 100 m unless rehabilitation work was completed. When adequate land is not yet identified, records not updated, and roads not built, there is no way the governments could save the affected families^Ò houses, villages, from drowning and devastation in this very monsoon.

Prominent Support

Meanwhile, prominent citizens including former high court judges Rajinder Sachar, S.M. Daud, litterateur U.R. Ananthmurthy,K.N. Panikkar, M.P. Parameswaran (Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad), political scientist Yogesndra Yadav, former navy chief Admiral Ram Das, renowned secular activist and scholar Asgar Ali Engineer, film maker Anand Patwardhan, veteran political ideologue Surendra Mohan and others expressed full support to the Land Right Satyagraha. In a statement they urged the Maharashtra government not to see this as a law and order problem, but deal with care and sensitivity to ensure the livelihood of Adivasis. " We appeal to the governments to legally transfer this land to the Adivasis who have made a claim to the land and extend government services to create a model rehabilitation site by involving Narmada Bachao Andolan and other civil society groups" they said. They also urged the governments not to permit any further construction of the dam, without completing first the rehabilitation of all affected adivasis satisfactorily.

From Pune, veteran trade unioninst Dr. Baba Adhav, socialist ideologue Bhai Vaidya, Prof. Subhash Vare, President of Rashtra Seva Dal, Vidya Bal of Nari Samata Manch and others appealed to Maharashtra government to complete land based resettlement of oustees before the monsoon.