Pench Project ground report: Displaced families still pleading for justice!

Madhya Pradesh— The Pench Project (Machhagora Dam) was established in 1988 with the aim of providing potable water to 711 villages in the Chhindwara district of Madhya Pradesh. The project involved acquisition of 5,607 hectares of land from 30 villages in the district. During this time, land acquisition officials disbursed compensation payments to the people, however, people from many villages are dissatisfied with the compensation given by the government. By 2017, 90% of the work on this project had been completed. But the government was not able to provide even adequate basic infrastructural facilities to the 2,572 families, comprising 9,580 people, who were displaced by the project.

Most of these people are Adivasis, Dalits and people from other deprived communities. When The Mooknayak visited the area covered by the project to understand more about the people affected and displaced by the project about their condition, the people talked about several problems and disclosedhow, “The 2002 resettlement policy under which we were displaced by the government inthe Pench project, the same policy was not adhered to following our displacement. Because of which we have not even been provided with basic amenities.”

In this,on looking at the points in the2002 resettlement policy, we note thatthe policy states that after some time has passed since their displacement, the people should not feela sense of unfamiliarity in their environment. They should have been provided various infrastructural facilities such as jobs, civic amenities, plots of land, fish farming, water, housing compensation, and libraries and parks in the settlement.

However, after seeing the ground conditionsin the displaced villages and on talking to the people, it emerged that in reality, the 2002 resettlement policy had not been implemented in the Pench project displacement case. As a result of which, the displaced people have not only become deprived of basic infrastructural facilities but also their constitutional rights such as their right to freedom, equality and socio-economic justice have also been violated.

When The Mooknayak spoke to the people who were ousted from Dhanaura village (population around 1,000+), Sheela and many other women tell us, “20-25 acres of our land was submerged due to the Machagora Dam (Pench Project), for which compensation given was Rs. 3-4 lakhs peracre. With this compensation, we have been able to buy only 2-3 acres of land at Rs 10 lakh per acre. There are some farmers who could only build houses with the compensation they got. They were not able buy any piece of land. In the same vein, Yashwati Verma, a Dalit woman who has a visual disability, complained that, “We were not even given a lease to build houses here.” It is worth pondering why economic justice, as referred to inthe constitution, was not implemented here?

Near the boundary of Machagora Dam, we spoke to Shyam Verma. He explains, “There is many problems with lighting in Dhanaura village. There is power, but no provision has been made for street lights. Due to water contamination and the surrounding filth, malaria and other water-borne diseases occur here.

Also, the main road here does not end on the land but continues onwards under the water, but no [warning] signs have been put up. In such a situation, there is a constant risk of accidents happening. Due to the water levels in the dam, snakes often come here. If a person is bitten by a snake, there is no hospital in the village. The [closest] specialist hospital is 25 km away from here. The question then arises that are the policies of the government violating people’s freedom to live (Article 21 of the Constitution)?

Many women like Shantibai from Dhanaura village, also says, “The government has not made provided any opportunities for employment here. We are managing to fill our stomachs with the left over compensation. Those who have spent all their compensation, they are at a loose end with no employment in sight.”

Many villagers also alleged that 25-30 people have died by drowning in the dam waters. Among these are also people who committed suicide out of despair because of the many problems after displacement, such as unemployment. Even in such a situation, the boundaries of the dam have not been secured.

Dayaram, a local resident tells The Mooknayak, “After our land was submerged because of Machagora Dam, my son Mukesh Verma ran into financial difficulties and committed suicide – he was not being able to support the family and the children’s education.” We need to think that if Mukesh had received justice according to the spirit of the constitution, would he have been compelled to take his life?

On proceeded further, we went down the mountain and reached Kevalari Sambha village. Here we met Ramkumar Verma, who says, “My 2 acres of land was acquired by the Pench Project, for which we were given Rs.6 lakhs as compensation. While the market price of the land was Rs.8 lakh per acre. Moreover, we were not given any compensation for the well, the pipeline and the trees. Nodding his head in agreement, Budhi bhai also says, “A thousand of my trees were cut down for this dam, but no compensation was received.”

Ramkumar further says, “In our village of Kevalari, no cremation ground has been built. Before displacement, we had a 1.5-km area for grazing our cattle, but now that has been lost due to water logging. The problem of finding grazing [land] for our animals has fallen on our head. Kevalari village is full of water from start to end, due to which it is difficult to travel to and fro.”

“With regard to Machagora Dam, the officials told us one thing, and did something else. Now we have become like fixtures on the roadside. The houses that were going to be submerge were also considered as part of the submergence [plan]. Because of which there is a lot of damp in our houses. In this situation, our children and us have to sleep in other people’s homes. Ever since the government acquired our land, our condition has become like that of beggars,” says Mahasangram, a villager, as he narrates his pain. He also asks the question whether the government has been just to them?

While talking to us, Radheshyam Sahu says, “There are about 50 houses here for which compensation has not been given. These houses are adjacent to the dam, so they have a lot of damp, and due to which walls are cracking and collapsing . Due to the wetness, many insects are attracted here, and it becomes difficult to eat meals.”

Parasram says, “Here, our land was submerged by the dam and our housealone is left, so what should we do? This is our problem.” Similarly, Prakash says, “We were not given compensation for a well. And out of 50 trees, we were given compensation for only 6-7 trees.”

When we arrived at the house of the sarpanch of Kevalari Sambha village, Ram Singh, a member of the sarpanch’s family showed us how water from the dam has been entering their houses. “We have also complained about this to the Collector, but no action has been taken”, says the sarpanch. Here, you may consider whether the Constitution has stipulated having an administration just to simply hear the grievances of the people.

After walking a few kilometres ahead from Kevalari Sambha, we reached Deori Kalan village (population around 1,000). Here, we met Ramakrishna and several other people. Describing his condition, Ramakrishna says, “Land belonging to 15 farmers of my village and farmers from other villages, has been submerged to a depth of about 50 decimals to one acre-foot , but we have not been given compensation. We have lodged complaints about this, but the issue has not been resolved.”

“In many villages the situation is such that even the roads leading to the fields are submerged in water, and the villagers are facing problems regarding evacuation. We have also registered our protest regarding these problems. But there has been no resolution. The government’s compensation has been done without consulting us and without an [appropriate] assessment, and by misguiding us. No details regarding wells, trees or pipelines were included in the compensation,” says Dadu Ram in a grim tone.

After this, Pankaj says, “We were not even given the opportunity to earn by doing fish farming in Machagora Dam.” Sant Kumar (who has a bachelor’s degree) adds, “The government has given the contract for fish farming to Shivni Contractors. While we are left with employment opportunities that are 50 km away from the village. Where the daily wage rate is such that the money one earns is just enough for the travelling expenses between here and there. The young men in our village are unemployed. So now they are no longer asking the government for public sector jobs , even if the government provided jobs in the private sector, to run our households.”

Furthermore, Neeraj Bhilbansi says, “There is no work here, so people are moving to other places for work.” Similarly, at Dhanaura Barhabariyari village, the kotwal [police official in charge] says that “200 people of our village have moved away.”

As Ram Sahu, a displaced person fromDhanaura Barhabariyari (population about 1,200) speaks, his pain is palpable in his words, “Before we were displaced, we had a contented life, but since then we have been miserable. Now we remain hungry for food, and so how can we imagine a future for children? The government has neither settled us  here, nor made arrangements to keep us here, rather it has just thrown us out like a pile of garbage. Had it made proper arrangements, we would have houses, roads, schools, electricity, water, everything would have been good.”

The kotwal of the village, Sunder Lal Daheria says, “We were told that we would get land in exchange for land, but no-one in the village has been given any land, nor have any houses been built.” Does this mean the villagers have been deceived? If yes, does our Constitution permit such amanner of conduct?

Surti Prasad Bhilbansi describes his situation thus: “Prior to our displacement, the government had said each family would be given a job, a house and all facilities free of cost. But nothing has been provided, our women were not even given leases for their land. Young men are loitering in the village, they are not being married off, with some saying that people are not giving their daughters because they do not have any land.”

Balram explains his condition by commenting that before Machagaura Dam (submergence area) was built, Chhindwara used to be at a travelling distance of 20 kmfrom Dhanaura village. But now one has to go around the area, so it is 40 km away. Similarly, earlier,Chaurai Tehsil used to be 12 km away. But now because of having to go in a round about way, it is nowat a distance of 35 km.

All these problems may seem insignificant to the government and the class of people who travel in helicopters. But for the people living without basic infrastructural facilities, there is no relief from these problems throughout their lives.

When we talked to Babli Naaharmasraam, the sarpanch of Dhanaura Barhabariyari, regarding arrangements in the villages, we were told that the village had no employment opportunities, and no school, anganwadi or medical facilities, no road and no other facilities. They had sent proposals for these facilities to the government, but they had not had any response.

As we turned to Sheikh Safi Ansari, who was standing next to the sarpanch, he told us that the village is surrounded by water on three sides and there is only one path. The government has not provided any facilities. When the dam was being built, we were forcibly displaced after being beaten up. Sheikh Safi Ansari’s story of being beaten and forcibly displacedpulls our attention to phrases such as “dignity of the individual” in the Preamble of the Constitution. Does not such inhuman treatment, asdealt out to Safi Ansari, violate the dignity of a person?

The demand of many villagers like Prakash Sahu of Machhagora village for the government is that a compensation package of Rs.65 lakh and jobs, similar to the Sardar Sarovar dam project, should be provided to them. The government has not even been able to resolve the basic problems being faced by the people affected by submergence. For many people like Sambhu Dayal, ration cards have not been made. Sambhu Dayal told us that they had submitted two to three applications for a ration card, but no-one has paid any attention. Many villagers such as Shivpal Sahu say that the Machagora dam was built on our land, but neither are we, nor is our cattle benefitting from any facilities from the dam, like supply of clean water.

The reason for Ramesh Dahria’s sorrow is that half of his grocery shop’s goods were submerge by the dam. He says that he received Rs.3,75,000 for having his grocery shop removed for the dam. Whereas the value of the shop was such that hecouldn’t even sell itfor Rs.20 lakhs. Did people like Ramesh receive economic justice as per the Constitution? Probably not.

Aradhana Bhargava, an advocate and the state vice president of the Kisan Sangharsh Samiti, has also filed a petition (Civil Appeal No. 10584-10585/2013) in the Supreme Court regarding the crisis of compensation and basic infrastructural facilities being faced by thousands of displaced people from these various villages. The petition hearings are going on.

At the same time, The Mooknayak asked Rajkumar Sinha, a senior and well-known activist from the Barghi Dam Displacement Association, for his views regarding the displacement of people in the Pench project. Rajkumar Sinha informed us, “Forcibly displacing someone in the name of development is against their natural justice. This amounts to the deception of those who do not know how the system works. The people were told in the Pench project that we [the project] will displace you but we will also make arrangements for you. So the people trusted the government, but they have been deceived …in the name of development, you uproot people but do not make any arrangements to lieu. This system does not have any intention towards comprehensive social, economic and cultural rehabilitation. All these three should be there. The people here demanded land in exchange for land, but the government has not provided this. While in the case of Sardar Sarovar Dam, the people got this (land in exchange for land) by struggling for it. More generally in such projects, they (the displaced people) are dispossessed of their resources and left to perish little by little.”

The Mooknayak also spoke to Preeti, Sub Divisional Magistrate [SDM], Chhindwara,regarding the Pench project. Preeti told us the Pench project was commissioned for water supply, irrigation etc. When we asked whether the 2002 resettlement policy of 2002 was followed in the Pench project, the SDM said yes indeed it has been followed. On also being asked whether the administration  had attempted to understand the social and economic condition of the displaced people, the SDM  responded that she had no idea of any published report as such. But we do provide whatever facilities they (displaced people) require from time to time.

So what facilities have been provided to the villages affected by displacement in the Pench project? In response to this, the SDM said that before withdrawing the basic infrastructural facilities that used to exist in a [displaced] village, all those facilities were provided again, such as the school, the panchayat building, hospital, veterinary hospital, anganwadi, sports ground and drains. The Mooknayak further inquired as to what employment opportunities were provided to those displaced in the Pench project? The SDM said that a record of this should be available from the panchayats. The arrangements for employment are prepared by the panchayats. And jobs are given depending on ability.

In this, Sarpanch Babli of Barhabariyari village’s frank comment was that there were no arrangements made for employment in the village, everyone is roaming around unemployed. The village was not even provided with any basic infrastructural facilities.

In contrast, in her statement regarding the displacement caused by the Pench project, the SDM emphasised that the 2002 resettlement policy has been followed as regards the displacement of people in the Pench project (Machagora Dam). But the conditions evident in the villagesin the Pench area and the voices of the people are clearly saying that the 2002 resettlement policy under which they were displaced, has not been followed.

It is worth ruminating that the Constitution has a system of parliamentary form of government thatis responsible for policymaking. And the facilities that should be provided for displaced people under a such as the 2002 resettlement policyis the responsibility of the administration. However, how the administration fulfils this responsibility depends on its scrupulousness. If the administrative system is not scrupulous, then somewhere it is undermining the constitution and the constitutional values that point to ensuring a justice-oriented life for the people.