Author: Shyam Khosla
Publication: Organiser
Date: July 2, 2006
URL: http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=137&page=11
Introduction: The then Vice President of India,
the late Krishan Kant, had in a well documented article expressed concern
about the role of some of the NGOs and had called for an enquiry into their
sources of funds. Kant had expressed the apprehension that many NGOs work
not for the welfare of the people but to serve the interests of their funding
agencies.
Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) Supremo Medha
Patkar has done it again. After putting impediments in the completion of the
Narmada project under the garb of ensuring rehabilitation of displaced persons,
she has now succeeding in her evil design to stall the work on the Maheshwar
Hydroelectic Project on the untenable premise that the project authorities
had failed to submit a rehabilitation plan for the displaced persons. Acting
in indecent haste on a frivolous complaint from the ever-complaining NBA,
the Union Environment Ministry ordered the stoppage of work on the project
without asking for an explanation from the project authorities. Centre's action
has jeopardised the ill-fated 400 MW hydroelectric project and undermined
MP Government's plan to achieve self-sufficiency in power by 2008.
The Environment Ministry's action is flawed
on several counts. First, it ignored the fact that relief and rehabilitation
(R&R) of uprooted persons is in progress and there is hardly any lapse
on that front. Secondly, it is wrong that no R&R plan was submitted to
the Government. Project authorities maintain that a plan was submitted four
years ago. They, however, admit that the data needed to be updated. Thirdly,
the Ministry turned a blind eye to its own records that show that project
was in a limbo for several years because of financial constraints and that
its task force that found that plan for R&R was in deficit had visited
the site way back in 2002. Obviously, no R&R work was in progress then
because of the uncertainty about the project after a German company declined
to release the promised loan. It was revived only last year as a joint project
between the public sector Power Finance Corporation and a private firm - S
Kumar. And finally, the Ministry didn't even warn the project authorities
before issuing the order. The first to receive it were not the project authorities
but the notorious dam-buster Medha Patkar.
The Congress-led UPA Government's arbitrary
directive caused great consternation to the state administration and upset
both the major political outfits - the BJP and the Congress. While the President
of the state BJP, Dr Satyanarain Jatia, assailed the central intervention
as an "anti-people" move, a senior Congress leader Narmada Prasad
Prajapati, who was Power Minister in the Digvijay Singh Government, castigated
Patkar for conspiring to stall the project under the guise of championing
the cause of the oppressed sections of the society. Although Congress leaders
of MP are extremely upset over the stoppage of the work on the project, they
understandably refrained from attacking their own government at the center
and confined themselves to training their guns at the NBA and its leader.
State Congress leaders are caught between the devil and the deep sea. They
can't afford to remain silent for fear of losing public support but are apprehensive
of annoying the national leadership of the party by speaking against the Environment
Ministry.
Last time, it was the Union Minister for Water
Resources Saifuddin Soz who had ganged up with the anti-dam brigade in an
insidious attempt to stop the work on the Sardar Sarovar project in a bid
to malign the BJP-run States and to derail their development plans. This time
round, it is the Environment Ministry that colluded with the NBA to further
delay the hydroelectric project in MP with a similar motive. Shri Narendra
Modi, who has emerged as a great fighter, had given a bloody nose to Medha
Patkar on the Sardar Sarovar project by launching a counter movement to expose
the evil designs of the dam-buster. The Supreme Court too came down heavily
against the NBA leader to puncture her ego. MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh
Chauhan is more cautious and refrains from confronting the Union Government
presumably because he is yet to settle down and consolidate his position as
a mass leader. However, his options are limited. Sooner rather than later,
he will have to confront the professional agitator and her supporters in the
Union Government if he has to maintain the tempo of development in the state.
MP faces a huge power shortage of 1500 MW, which in turn has slowed the process
of industrialisation and discouraged investors. It needs to generate more
power expeditiously.
That India is deficit in energy is no secret.
It needs to generate more power to accelerate its pace of development. We
have exploited only a fraction of our national potential of hydroelectric
power. It is no one's case that hydroelectric projects don't create environmental
problems. But these projects are more environment-friendly than thermal and
atomic energy plants. These projects also entail problems of dislocation of
people. The Government needs to evolve a plan for R&R of people uprooted
by various development projects. The affected people need to be paid adequate
compensation for the material and emotional injury caused to them by relocation.
Government's failure to adequately compensate the sufferers, particularly
hapless farmers, will send across the message that development is anti-poor
and encourage Patkars, to exploit the situation for their selfish ends.
The then Vice President of India, the late
Krishan Kant, had in a well documented article expressed concern about the
role of some of the NGOs and had called for an enquiry into their sources
of funds. Kant had expressed the apprehension that many NGOs work not for
the welfare of the people but to serve the interests of their funding agencies.
It is in this context that there is a need to trace the sources of funding
of NBA. An enquiry conducted by the Gujrat Government - whose findings were
made public earlier this year - found that a US-based non-government agency
aimed at "decommissioning of dams" all over the world was one of
the major source of NBA's funds. It may be argued that findings of the Gujarat
Government's enquiry can't be relied upon as it is in confrontation with NBA
for long. Under the circumstances, it would be more appropriate for the Government
of India to ask the CBI to conduct an impartial enquiry into the funding of
NBA that has emerged as a dam-buster. Let the people know the real intention
of Medha Patkar. Is opposing hydroelectric projects her mission or profession?
