Villagers protest filling up of MP dam
Thousands of villagers affected by the Maheshwar dam took out a protest march at Mandleshwar in Madhya Pradesh on Sunday to express their anger against the State government and the UPA government at the Centre for allowing the filling of Maheshwar dam up to 154 meters without ensuring rehabilitation of the affected population.
The Narmada Bachao Andolan, which spearheaded Sunday’s protest-march has accused government of India and the state government of concealing the submergence of the houses and lands of affected villages caused by the “illegal closure” of the gates of the dam by the private dam builders Shree Maheshwar Hydel Power Corporation Limited on August 27 last year. The dam oustees and NBA have demanded that the ministry of environment and forest should immediately withdraw the order which permits the S.Kumars company to close the gates of the dam. They also issued the ultimatum that if the MoEF refuses to wi-thdraw the order, the people would observe “Jal Sat-yagrah” and not leave their lands without proper rehabilitation and resettlement. Alok Agarwal, senior activist of the Narmada Bachao Andolan and leader of the movement in the area, stated that it is shocking that the ministry of environment and forests has permitted the S.Kumars to close the gates.
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This is with reference to the
SMHPCL
24 May 2012 - 13:15
This is with reference to the above news story on the Maheshwar Project. Please find below, a statement from Shree Maheshwar Hydel Power Corporation Ltd. (SMHPCL) with regards to the same.
Statement –
The rally of the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) against the Maheshwar Project at Mandleshwar on Sunday, the 13th of May, 2012 turned out to be a damp squib. That the NBA had to bring people to the venue of the rally from places as far as Khandwa and other far-flung areas which are far away from the Maheshwar project affected region due to a thin presence of people at the rally is a clear indication of the NBA’s weakening support in the region. The anti-dam activists had to shift the base from Mandleshwar to Khandwa long ago as a result of this.
We strongly refute the allegations made by the NBA that the gates were closed in August 2011. This is not true. Furthermore, the MPEB, the Collector and State Energy Secretary have all certified that at 154 metres there is no possibility of inundation of permanent habitat or agri land and this has been accepted by the Central Electricity Authority and the Union Power Ministry. The filling in of the reservoir will be supervised by a committee constituted by the MoEF, consisting of representatives from the Central and State Governments. The Narmada Bachao Andolan's lies stand to contradict the country's most competent bodies at various levels- the MPEB, the District Collector and Energy Secretary at Madhya Pradesh Government level, the CEA as well as the Union Power Ministry at the Government of India level. As compared to these authorities, the NBA has no locus standi, either technical or administrative, to comment on these matters.
The filling of the Maheshwar reservoir in stages is a prerequisite to making a project of national importance productive at the earliest so as to make available, much needed water and electricity to the people of Madhya Pradesh. Any further delay in filling of water in Maheshwar reservoir will only aggravate the water crisis in Indore, Madhya Pradesh’s largest city. The Maheshwar Project will prove to be a lifeline by supplying 400 MW of clean, green electricity, and an additional 360 MLD of much needed water to Indore. In fact, the NBA owes an explanation to the people of Madhya Pradesh as to what their motives are for continuously preventing the benefits of the Maheshwar Project from reaching the people.
It can be noted that the NBA has been continuously spreading baseless and inaccurate information with the objective of stalling the Maheshwar Project. We have accordingly acquired an Injunction Order against the NBA with effect to the same. By making defamatory statements against the Maheshwar Project, the NBA is clearly in Contempt of Court and any articles carried to that effect is a violation of the said Court Order.
That the NBA has always misguided not only the people of the country, but also the judiciary and the Government by spreading misinformation through false and fabricated reports has been reiterated for the second time by the Hon’ble Supreme Court. On the 3rd of May, 2012, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court dismissed petitions filed by the NBA in relation to the issue of land acquisition for the Omkareshwar project in Madhya Pradesh. The apex court dismissed the review petitions filed by the NBA saying that the May 11, 2011 judgement "does not suffer from any mistake" and "no ground is made out" for review of the September 29, 2011 order by which it had declined to expunge the adverse remarks against the NBA in the verdict. In the original order, the court had lashed out at the NGO for making false statements in the affidavit for securing a favourable order and had also asked other courts across the country to be cautious in examining the NBA's petitions. Kindly refer to the verdict on the same on the website of the Supreme Court of India –
http://courtnic.nic.in/supremecourt/temp/rc%20395-42412p.txt
This order goes on to expose the canards of this unregistered NGO that is neither a preserver of the environment nor concerned for the true welfare of the people, and further vindicates our stand against the NBA.
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