EXPERT COMMITTEE HAS ALREADY REJECTED THE CANAL PLANS OF GOVT. OF M.P.

APEX COURT’S INTERIM ORDERS STAND FULLY VIOLATED BY GOMP

A Three-Judge Special Bench of the Supreme Court of India comprising Hon’ble
Justice Shri J.M. Panchal, Justice B.S Chouhan and Justice Deepak Verma today
directed the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests to file an affidavit
before it by the February 15th, informing the Court of its decision on the
Reports of its own Expert Committee which has fully rejected the Command Area
Development (CAD) Plans of the Madhya Pradesh Government with regard to the
massive canal network of the Indira Sagar and Omkareshwar canals.

It is notable that the huge network of the Indira Sagar (ISP) and Omkareshwar
(OSP) canals, which is still largely unplanned has been causing enormous
destruction of more than 10,000 hectares of prime agricultural land in the
Narmada valley for more than 5 years now. Much of it is also in the villages on
the banks of the river (partly to be affected by the Sardar Sarovar and
Maheshwar reservoir). The lands of all the farmers are already irrigated since
last many years and hence they simply do not need the canals and have been
demanding that their only source of livelihood i.e. their fertile agricultural
lands  and rich horticultural should not be destroyed. However the canal work
continues in utter contempt of the Orders of the High Court and Supreme Court
on both environment and rehabilitation.

In November, 2009, the High Court of Madhya Pradesh stayed the land acquisition
and excavation of the canals after 9 months-long hearing on the writ petition
filed by NBA and directed land-based rehabilitation of the canal-oustees as per
the State Rehabilitation Policy.  The High Court also upheld that irrigated
lands must be excluded from the canal network to minimize displacement and save
agriculture.  However the Supreme Court, hearing the appeal (SLP) filed by the
Government of Madhya Pradesh, vacated the stay conditionally and temporarily
only for 10 weeks and directed that the canal work, thereafter, can proceed,
only with the approval by the Expert Committee and MoEF.

Shockingly, it’s more than 10 months (40 weeks) since the Supreme Court’s
vacation of stay lapsed and the Expert Committee has submitted two strong
reports, disapproving the Plans submitted by the Narmada Valley Development
Authority holding them to be totally inadequate and charging NVDA of making
misleading submissions. The Expert Committee has also recommended that the
Supreme Court’s order, permitting the canal work must be withdrawn. MoEF has
filed these Reports before the Supreme Court and has not approved the Plans
either, but is yet to issue a decisive stop-work notice for both the Projects.

It must be noted that the canal construction without complete plans and
execution of the CAD works (involving on-farms and off-farm works) is causing
severe harm to the agricultural land with water logging, salinization, cutting
of path ways, disruption of farm lands, blocking the water streams as well as
crop patterns, bio – diversity. All of this is causing immense hardships to
the farming community, which is to increase.   Inspite of numerous
representations by the canal-affected adivasis and other farmers on the serious
impacts on farm lands and roads that have occurred in Badwani, Dhar, Khargone
districts and excavation continuing without the necessary approval, at the cost
of agro-rich lands, peoples’ livelihoods and the eco system, MoEF had been
ignoring and the decision and therefore, the Supreme Court’s order today is a
significant step forward in this case.

The Apex Court in the same petition also directed land-based rehabilitation for
the canal – affected families who lost 60% and more land. The land to be
offered is to be in the vicinity of the affected village, in the command area
or the government land bank, but only after ensuring its cultivabilty and with
other amenities provided to the oustees resettled there. However, the GoMP has
not offered cultivable land to any of the oustees in the vicinity but has only
offered uncultivable land or land in possession of old encroachers or infact
lands which are non-existent such as in villages Nimsar or Peetnagar of Badwah
Tehsil (Khargone district), where as per the State Government’s own affidavit
on Land Bank submitted to the Apex Court in April 2000, there is no cultivable
land available.

It is also a matter of extreme seriousness that the private contractors who are
in alliance with the ruling party politicians in Madhya Pradesh are wreaking
havoc on peopl’s lands and livelihoods resulting in unjust displacement prior
to rehabilitation, which is also a gross contempt of the Supreme Court. The
reality of arbitrary methods used during the ongoing land acquisition and
survey process, no hearing granted despite objections being filed, random
changes in the canal alignments, exclusion and inclusion of land and
properties,  excavation of land other than land which has been acquired,
unnecessary destruction of agricultural land, threats and intimidation by the
officials and contractors etc, very low compensation or sometimes denial of
compensation to the pipeline, wells, trees; huge mounds of mud and rubble
thrown on the un-acquired portions of the farm, making farming unviable,
seeking pecuniary advantage from the canal-oustees etc is causing much anger
and anguish amongst thousands of canal oustees. Even the compensation offered
to those who lands are acquired is only based on the village guideline is very
meager, as a result of which it is virtually impossible to purchase land with
the said compensation amount.

The canal work, being carried out without the command area development plans
and rehabilitation of thousands of canal affected families is not a gross
violation of the Supreme Court’s orders but the conditional clearances
granted by MoEF 15-20 years as also the Environment Protection Act of 1986.
NBA demands an immediate halt to the canal project works until all the
environmental and rehabilitated measures are fully planned and complied with.
The people also demand that the canal network must be immediately reviewed to
exclude all the irrigated villages and save the agriculturists and the
environment.

Lalchand Patidar    Rumsing     Medha Patkar        Shrikanth

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