She has a point

The protest fast by the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader, Medha Patkar (since arrested and hospitalised), is not without provocation though one can quarrel with her chosen method of protest. The hard fact is that the people displaced by the Sardar Sarover dam project have not been suitably compensated and rehabilitated. There have been court interventions, and several rounds of dispute and resolution, but the government has once again displayed its ineptness or its devil-may-care attitude when it comes to the people affected by the dam. The onus for correcting this situation rests on the government.

This is not to argue for delaying the implementation of what is already a 45-year-old project, especially when massive sums have already been invested. Also, on completion, the project will bring enormous economic benefits to people in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and even Rajasthan. It is designed to irrigate nearly 1.8 million hectares of parched land in Gujarat alone, where per hectare crop yields could rise two- to three-fold because of the availability of water. The dam will also generate around 5,000 MW of power in a region that is short of electricity, and provide much-needed drinking water to millions of people in these states. From this point of view, it is a pity that this project has been embroiled in controversy ever since its foundation stone was laid by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1961.

The NBA stir itself is now over two decades old""and yet officialdom does not accept the simple logic that while the dam benefits millions, it should not equally impoverish large numbers who get thrown off their land and whose livelihoods get affected. In fact, the Supreme Court in its 2000 edict permitted the dam's height to go up to 138 metres, but linked this to relief and rehabilitation work on a "pari passu" basis, which essentially means that the processes of raising the height and rehabilitation should go on simultaneously. It is in this perspective that the current agitation by the NBA and Ms Patkar's interrupted fast need to be viewed. The work is now apace on raising the height of the dam from the present 110.64 metres to 121.9 metres, and the NBA maintains that the rehabilitation of those ousted from the villages likely to be submerged leaves much to be desired. Despite official denials, Ms Patkar has a point, considering the treatment meted out by those ousted to visiting central ministers at the rehabilitation sites. As such, the grievances of the affected people need to be addressed and they need to be paid what is their due in terms of alternative land, dwelling units and other relevant amenities. And this can surely be done on the pari passu basis ordered by the court.

The broader issue that this episode points to is that, even six decades after Independence, the country has neither a proper land acquisition and compensation policy nor a rehabilitation and resettlement policy. The sufferings of lakhs of people owing to displacement and livelihood loss can be mitigated only through well-conceived policies in these areas. Going by the norms laid down by the World Bank, rehabilitation must result in a situation in which those ousted live in a better state than they did before displacement, not just economically but also socially. If this principle is followed, the need for periodic protests by Ms Patkar and others would be obviated.