CM urges Patkar to call off strike
Chief Minister Kamal Nath in a statement issued here on Monday urged the leader of the Narmada Bachao Andolan, Medha Patkar to call off her agitation and apprised her of the steps taken by the State Government regarding rehabilitation of the Sardar Sarovar Project oustees, ensuring public participation in rehabilitation, and getting amount from the Government of Gujarat on rehabilitation related works, legal issues pending with various courts.
The Chief Minister urged Patkar to end her agitation and cooperate with the state government in resolving the issues of submergence affected people.
Kamal Nath said that the state government will make efforts to open the gates of the dam and presently stop allowing the reservoir to be filled up to the full water level. The Chief Minister has assured all the agitating volunteers of NBA and Patkar that the state government is committed to complete rehabilitation of affected persons. He said that all claims and issues of affected people will be completely resolved by organizing camps in villages of Narmada Valley.
Nath informed that on the request of Gujarat a meeting of the Reservoir Regulation Committee was convened on 16 August 2018, in which Gujarat demanded to fill the reservoir by 30 cm per day. The demand was not acknowledged due to the strong opposition by the state government. He said that this is reflective of the State Government’s commitment to protecting the interests of people of Madhya Pradesh.
The Chief Minister said that Sardar Sarovar Project is an inter-state project, in which Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh are partners. Therefore, no decision can be taken by a single State. The rehabilitation work is being done in compliance with the Narmada Water Dispute Tribunal Award, State’s Rehabilitation Policy and the order passed by the Supreme Court. The problems related to the rehabilitation of the displaced persons in the state are being resolved by the five retired judges of the High Court through the Grievance Redressal Authority.
The Chief Minister said that there is a continuous dialogue with the Narmada Bachao Andolan and the displaced persons so that the suffering of the displaced can be properly addressed. The present government has constituted village and district level rehabilitation committees in submergence affected villages ensuring the participation of public representatives, social workers and the displaced persons themselves.
Kamal Nath said in his statement that instructions have been given to the collectors to review the cases of all the previously declared ineligible families to ensure that they also get the rehabilitation related benefits. So far, 115 new families are considered eligible for Rs 60 lakh and the amount has been demanded from the Gujarat Government. The amount has still not been received from the Gujarat Government. A comprehensive relief measures have been taken in all villages so as to avoid inconvenience to the people living the submergence area.
