<p>Order of the Supreme Court of India in the matter of Madan Singh & Others Vs Union of India & Others dated 24/10/2019 regarding raising of water level in Sardar Sarovar reservoir and rehabilitation
The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Madhya Pradesh government to respond to the Centre's status report on the measures taken for relief and rehabilitation of the families affected by the Narmada d
Public Interest Litigation by NBA on alleged corruption in rehabilitation The Madhya Pradesh High Court has issued notices to the State Government, Chief Secretary, Chairman of the Narmada Valley Development Authority and others in response to a public interest litigation petition by Narmada Bachao Andolan against alleged corruption in the rehabilitation process of Sardar Sarovar Project affected families in Madhya Pradesh. NBA leader Medha Patkar herself pleaded the case. The Bench consisting of Chief Justice A. K. Patnaik and Justice Prakash Shrivastava heard the plea by Ms. Patkar and issued notices to the respondents, including the State Government, Chief Secretary, Chairman NVDA, Chairman, Narmada Control Authority (NCA) (who is also Secretary to the Union Ministry of Water Resources), State Secretary, Revenue Department, Director-General of Police, Inspector-General Stamps and Registration, District Collectors of five districts --Badwani, Dhar, Jhabua, Khargone and Dewas. They have been asked to file their replies within a month. The petition filed through senior advocate N. S. Kale on October 16, 2007, was heard on March 3. The petition alleges that there was a nexus between the NVDA officials and contractors when it came to setting up the rehabilitation sites and this has resulted in preparation of "shoddy and uninhabitable' rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) sites. It goes on to point out that thousands of eligible project affected families (PAFs) have been kept out of the ambit of rehabilitation and resettlement while those not eligible have been declared as PAFs. It is the contention of NBA that the nexus between officials, middlemen and advocates has led to huge corruption and swindling of public money meant for rehabilitation. The petition says the Madhya Pradesh government policy has allowed the land and house-based rehabilitation directives of the Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal Award (NWDTA) to be twisted and this has led to corruption. The State rehabilitation policy induced fake registries, where PAFs who were given cash for buying lands actually ended up giving commission to officials and middlemen, it is alleged. By signing fake registries, they facilitated a process where crores of rupees were amassed by officials and agents as commission, depriving PAFs of basic resource security and a better living condition after resettlement. NBA has said in a statement signed jointly by NBA activists Ashish Mandloi, Clifton Rozario and Kamla Yadav that FIRs were filed against PAFs and about 35 of them were arrested. Later all of them except one were released on bail and no action was taken against the NVDA officials though notices were issued to 30 of them. Out of a total of 2,600 land registries claimed by NVDA as part of SRP, 758 are already officially accepted by the government as fake registries, after preliminary enquiry by special departmental officers, NBA has pointed out demanding a CBI probe into this matter.
THE last couple of decades have witnessed intense resistance movements challenging large-scale displacement caused, among others, by mines, dams, national parks and sanctuaries, bomb and missile-testing ranges, industry and urban expansion.
India's ugliest dam builder is undoubtedly the state-owned National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC). While the company is currently angling to acquire new capital, its operations at home and abroad have left a trail of ruined livelihoods and misery in its wake.
Injustice continues to haunt the Narmada River Valley! The Narmada Valley projects comprise 30 large dams, 135 medium size dams, 3000 small dams and a minimum of 75,000 kms of canal networks to direct the waters.
The National Wildlife Board, at its standing committee meeting on Tuesday in Delhi, cleared the Gujarat government proposal to allow the Narmada canal to pass through the Little Rann of Kutch. The canal will bring Narmada waters into the southern coast of the Kutch district. A senior state official, who participated in the Delhi meeting, said that the Central board had cleared the construction of a 40-km-long canal stretch through the Wild Ass Sanctuary in the Little Rann. The canal, which will begin on the western tip of Santalpur taluka of Patan district bordering the Little Rann, will have to allow around 3,800 wild asses in the sanctuary smooth movement with the help of 18 safe passages and four siphons, the official said, adding, "The two sides of the canal have to be fenced to ensure that the animals do not fall into it.' Earlier, the Gujarat Ecological Education and Research (GEER) Foundation had prepared a detailed report, identifying the movement of the wild ass in order to enable the Narmada canal to pass through the sanctuary. "The GEER foundation's recommendation has been broadly accepted, though with some modification,' the official said, adding, "However, the central board has asked the state forest department to study a few more areas where there are chances of wild ass movement.' The board's advisory, clearing the canal through the sanctuary, has now gone to the Central Empowered Committee, appointed by the Supreme Court, which gives the final word for any diversion of land in a reserved forest area, for developmental purpose.
Book>> The Politics of Water Resource Management in India
Narmada is the Life-line of Madhya Pradesh both literally as well as figuratively. One of the two rivers in the India which flow from East to West, Narmada originates in Amarkantak- an enchanting hill station and a place of pilgrimage in the Shahdol district of the state and covers a distance of 1312 km., before joining the Arabian sea in the gulf of Cambay.
the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (amc) has stepped up measures to rope in citizens to use its
On March 6, 2007, Union minister of state for water resources Jai Prakash Yadav told the Rajya Sabha that in case Madhya Pradesh was not able to utilise its share of the Narmada waters, the
