The construction work on a dam in Madhya Pradesh has the tribal population in the region feeling betrayed and devastated. The locals were assured seven years ago that Basania dam in Odhari village would not be constructed, saving their forests and houses from drowning.
“Seven years ago, tribals heaved a sigh of relief on hearing the Basania dam will not be constructed. We are now shocked to hear that construction has begun again. Madhya Pradesh government has been deceitful,” Titra Marvi, sarpanch of Odhari.
Madhya Pradesh government broke the promise it made in the assembly and now is preparing to make the tribal population in the region homeless, Marvi alleged. Basania dam is in Mandla district, neighbouring Jabalpur.
Basania dam is one of the seven dams in the Narmada valley, which Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had announced in the Legislative Assembly as cancelled in March 2016, said Medha Patkar, politician, activist and national coordinator of the Narmada Bachao movement.
The embankment would cause a large number of displacement and submergence of agricultural land, so seven dams along with this dam have been cancelled, Chouhan had said.
“The government must clarify on what basis did it suddenly change its decision and went ahead with the construction,” said Patkar. She also raised queries about the eco-sensitivity of the Narmada valley regarding earthquakes.
Earthquakes in the valley are increasing continuously, with a magnitude of more than three on the Richter scale. About 37 earthquakes have occurred in the Narmada and Son river valley districts in the last two and a half years. Its intensity ranged from 1.8 to 4.6 on the Richter scale.
In the last 200 years, four major and devastating earthquakes have occurred in the state, according to the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences. The last devastating earthquake occurred in the state 25 years ago.
On May 22, 1997, 41 people died in an earthquake in Jabalpur at 4 am. Then the earthquake’s intensity was measured at 5.8 on the Richter scale.
The Narmada Development Authority had started work on the plan to build 29 big dams on the Narmada river, which also flows through Madhya Pradesh, since 1980. Of these, ten have been built so far, work is in progress on six dams and seven of the remaining 13 dams were cancelled.
However, the MP government told the state assembly on December 21, 2022 that a company has been notified for the construction of Basania dam.
The response came after a question by Member of Legislative Assembly Ashok Marskole elected from the Niwas assembly constituency of Mandla district. Marskole said he asked about projects proposed in the Narmada valley, reserved forest, protected and forest land of small trees’ included in the project.
The CM, who also handles the department of Narmada Development, said the work of selection of alternative land and permission for forest land will be done by the agency contracted for the construction work of the dam.
The answer means the government has gone back on its promises, said Rajkumar Sinha, a member of the Bargi Dam Displaced Association.
While cancelling the construction of seven dams, including Basania, in 2016, the CM had said the acquisition of new land for the seven dams will increase the project costs, submergence area and loss of forest cover.
A statement by the CM in the Assembly in 2016 talked about cancelling the project, while the latest one talked about awarding the project works, said Sinha.
After the CM’s statement, a contract was signed on November 24, 2022, between the Narmada Valley Development Department and Mumbai’s Afcons Company for the proposed Basania Dam in the Narmada Valley.
The state government signed a contract of Rs 22,000 crore with public sector undertaking Power Finance Corporation for 13 dams on May 26, 2020. However, the corporation under the Union Ministry of Power will give out the loan only for hydro power generation.
Therefore, the target of hydro power generation in the remaining dams has been increased to 225 megawatts.
In its report for 2009-2010, the Narmada Valley Department had set a target of 20 MW power generation from Basania dam and irrigation in 50,000 hectare area. This has now been increased to 100 MW of hydropower generation and the area under irrigation has been reduced to only 8,780 ha.
The state government gets very little revenue from irrigation, while electricity generation gets a lot of income.
However, many experts believe micro-lift irrigation will be more beneficial compared to a dam, as it will reduce the cost, time and area under irrigation can also be increased. Former Vice-President of Narmada Valley Development Authority Rajneesh Vaish also confirmed this.
A large amount of Power Finance Corporation capital is stuck in thermal power, claimed Sinha. That’s why Power Finance Corporation is giving loan for hydro power generation in the name of green energy.
Global pressure to move away from fossil fuels over climate change is also bound to drive policy change. But the big question is whether destroying dense forests and biodiversity for hydropower makes it green energy, he added.
The 40th meeting of the expert appraisal committee constituted for river valley projects by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change was held on January 25, 2023.
In the meeting, a proposal was made by the state government to approve the environmental impact assessment report for the Basania multipurpose project in the Narmada valley.
The expert appraisal committee on the proposal noted that the project covers an area of 2,107 hectares of forest land, which the law says should be the minimum forest cover. It was also stated that the analysis of alternative site of this project has not been kept in the proposal.
The development project will require a large area of forest and tribal population also resides in the project area, the committee said. The conversion of forest land would have adverse effects on the ecosystem, loss of biodiversity and productivity of the ecosystem, it added.
The committee has asked the state government also to present an alternative site from the ecological perspective of the impact of this project on the tribals. Based on the above facts, the committee has postponed giving the project’s term of reference (reference point).
This dam is proposed in Odhari village of Mandla district of Madhya Pradesh. In this dam, 2,443 hectares of agricultural land, 2,107 hectares of forest land and 1,793 hectares of government land i.e. a total of 6,343 hectares of land will be submerged.
The dam will displace 2,735 families from 18 tribal-dominated villages in Mandla and 13 in Dindori district, whose only means of livelihood is agriculture.
Naval Singh Marvi of Rampuri village, which will be affected by Basania dam, said it will irrigate only 8,780 hectares while 6,343 hectares of land will be submerged. “Is it justified to submerge 2,443 hectares of agriculture and 2,107 hectares of forest land in the name of 100 MW power generation?” he said.
Mandla district is classified under the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution (Special Provisions for Tribal Areas), where the Panchayat Provision (Extension to Scheduled Areas) (PESA) Act is in force.
However, the Narmada Valley Development Authority has provided no information to any of the affected Gram Sabhas regarding this project.
This directly violates the constitutional rights given to the tribals under the PESA Act. Not only this, but the tribals of the dam-affected villages also came to know about the award of the contract to a Mumbai-based company for the dam’s construction only through the local newspapers.
The dam-affected Gram Sabhas have not yet approved the construction of the Basania dam under the purview of the fifth schedule and the rights received under the PESA Act.