A march against forced displacement in Sonbhdra

Dear Friends,

Greetings from PVCHR/GSS

On 15th January, 2011 at 2 pm

the villagers of Sundari gathered
in front of the primary school,
Sundari against the construction
of the dam in the open meeting
called by the current village head
Mr. Ram Vichar. When again the
inauguration of foundation stone
of Kanhar Dam by the Chief
Minister of Uttar Pradesh Ms.
Mayawati on 15th January, 2011 on her birthday. In the meeting they
discussed the issue and decided the future course of action.

 Villagers oppose the construction of the big dam at kanahar but are in
the favour of construction of the small dam for the irrigation through
the lift cannel.
 They also decided to hold foot-march from Dudhi tehsil to Robersganj
district head quarter by five thousand tribal and cover 100 km
starting from March 10th – 15th

So, please do come to participate in the protest march. If you are unable to
participate, please light a candle on that day, write a protest letter to
Government of India and Uttar Pradesh, organize the protest march in your
area or donate your contribution to the Gram Swaraj Samiti on the given
below bank detail and marked you valuable contribution to save the life of
thousands of people, who are going to displaced after the construction of
Kanhar Dam.

With Regards

Mahesananad Dr. Lenin Raghuvanshi

Secretary Secretary General
Gram Swaraj Samaiti PVCHR
Email: gss_sonebhadra59@rediffmail.com
Mobile no: 91- 9415233694
More facts about Kanhar Dam

Earlier the foundation stone of the Kanhar Dam was laid in 1976 by the
Chief Minister of U.P, Mr. N.D. Tiwari. The proposed Kanhar Dam is located
at Amawar village of Dudhi Tehsil in Sonbhadra district of Uttar Pradesh. if
Kanhar dam would have been built on Kanhar River, a tributary of the Sone
River, west of North Koel and east of Rihand tributaries would have wreaked
havoc in Sonebhadra district (Uttar Pradesh), Sarguja District
(Chhattisgarh) and
Garhwa district
(Jharkhand). After
completion it would have
submerged an area of
3000 hectares. It would
have been expected to
irrigate 25772 hectares of
land in district
Sonebhadra and 8,000
hectares in adjoining
districts of Jharkhand
and Madhya Pradesh. The
dam would have
displaced over 7,500 families from 25 villages from their ancestral land and
homes in Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.

Kanhar multipurpose project got approval in September 1976 from Central

Water Commission (CWC) with an initial cost of Rs 277.5 millions. It was
technically approved in 1979 with a revised estimate of Rs. 558 million.
Inter-state dispute between Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh on
submergence land was overlooked by CWC, finally sanctioned a revised
estimated cost of Rs 694.7 million. The Department of Environment of all
three states was ignored completely and also no proper survey was made
which concealed and overlooked the real picture of the miserable and
pathetic condition of tribals. Preliminary figures estimated 900,000 trees,
2500 kuccha and 200 pucca houses, 500 wells and about 30 Government
schools along with few of the other buildings would have doomed under
water.

Fourteen villages of Sonebhadra

district faced submergence so
the tribals living in these villages
decided to stall the project and
then, they approached
Maheshanand of Gram
Swarajya Samiti (GSS) for
guidance. GSS, which had been
working in Dudhi and other blocks of Sonebhadra district since 1984,
helped in garnering support and 'Kanhar Bachao Andolan' was formed on
23rd March 2002. Since the formation of Kanhar Bacho Andolan, every year
on 23rd March tribals, women and activists gather at the construction site of
the proposed project for continuing the struggle and taking to its logical
culmination. 23 rd March is a red-letter day in the India's history. It was the
day when Bhagat Singh, Sukdev and Rajguru faced the gallows to free the
country from British colonial fetters. GSS has facilitated with strategic
framework of launching awareness campaign against the Kanhar
Multipurpose project in the 25 villages of UP, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.
It helped Kanhar Bachao Andolan to design its advocacy, action and capacity
building programmes in these villages for bringing the local communities
together to stall the project. A number of initiatives were carried out viz.
meetings, camps, rallies, etc. Support from Civil Society from other parts of
the state was received. In fact, Justice Mohd.Z. Yacoob, sitting Judge of
constitution of South Africa, patron of Peoples’ Vigilance Committee on
Human Rights (PVCHR) also came over, visited the area & participated in
the meetings. Most of the work of construction of the dam had been
completed.

In the anti-dam movement, women are at the forefront. When the

Government expressed its unwillingness to go by people's wishes, women
resolved that they would not allow the government to displace them.
Women resolved to chase away those working in the project site. Women
do not allow project related vehicles, machinery or personnel.

Viswanath Karwar, the chief functionary of Kanhar Bachao Andolan,

“Guided by Gram Swarajya Samiti' tribals have been able to launch a
relentless struggle for stalling the project. We could continue it as the feeling
of losing land and forest is as stronger among the tribals as consequences of
displacement. Tribals know if they are displaced then it would wreak havoc
with their entire way of life and culture. Most importantly it would dismantle
them from their ancient culture. It would rob their identities

Within a span of six years, Kanhar Bachao Andolan membership had swelled
to 3025. It includes 1720 men and 1305 women. The Andolan has 22-
member Central committee which links up with 25 villages through its local
committee. The Central Committee’s office is in Sundari village, the first
village to be submerged by the Kanhar dam, if constructed. Prior to its
formation, the front ranking activists of KBA made a recce of the villages
falling in the submergence zone. It facilitated the process of developing local
committees in these villages. These local committees link up with the
Central Committee for talking ahead the struggle. These committees have
been formed in 11 villages consisting of 22 members with equal
participation of men and women. The role of this Committee is to keep itself
informed of the latest stand of the Government on the dam, keep others
updated on the issue, plan out the strategy and mode of protest.

“Majority of the peasants and landless labourers belonging Gond, Pannika,

Karwar, Pariha, Chero, Bhuiyan tribes and Muslims were facing
displacement from the Kanhar project. Few among them are small and
medium peasants but its predominantly landless peasants. Though few of
the villagers have been issued job cards to work under much-touted
National Rural Guarantee Employment Scheme (NREGP) but 60 to 70
percent villagers are forced to migrate to Gujarat and Maharashtra for
earning their livelihood,” said Viswanath Karwar.

“After a lot of deliberations a consensus emerged from those facing

displacement community that construction of the dam should be stalled
forthwith. It was the women who took the lead in the struggle. Armed with
whatever implements they had they launched physical assault on the
workers. The workers, fearing their safety fled from the site. The
construction of the dam has come to grinding halt. The machinery and
spare parts have been dismantled and sold as scrap”, added Viswanath
Karwar.

The struggle of the tribals shows that they cannot be subjugated by the
pushing over them the development projects. The dominant development
model is itself antagonistic to their survival. Gram Swarajya Samiti had been
able to kindle in them through their struggle they establish their right not
merely over their resources but also their right to life a life of their own
choice amidst an environment over which they have control. The chief
functionary of GSS Mr. Maheshanad faced the intimidation from the Kanhar
Banao group.

As per UP Revenue Act, till 1986 there was no facility for Record Operation
in the area. Thus all report were made on the basis of erroneous surveys.
Taking advantage of this forest department took the land of poor innocent
tribals under its possession, declaring it as reserve forest under section 4
and 20 of Indian Forest Act but forest dept flagrantly violated the provision
of the forest act by not giving any notification neither in the invernacular nor
to the villagers and Pradhan.

In a hurry to start the project work, the authorities gave negligible amount
of compensation to some people. Most of them accepted it with a note of
decent. As has been the practice shrewd landlord inhumanly took over the
land of the poor and innocent traumatized people on throwaway prices to
negotiate comparatively better compensation from authorities. Even today
most of the poor residing on their land have got no compensation at all.

Lot of public money has been pumped into Kanhar Project. Sheer wastage of
Rs. 50 – 60 cr in road, building, paint, soil etc is clearly visible which
aggravate the agony of the people affected. The relief and rehabilitation is
standing last in the queue of getting fund and therefore rehabilitation as
such has been the last priority. The project is clearly violating the basic
rights given to downtrodden villagers and tribals in the constitution of rights
like right to life, right to healthy environment, right to education and many
others. Government on the other hand, itself violates law by hindering and
destroying the rich forest full of bio-diversity. Livelihood and culture of more
than 7500 families from 25 villages is on the verge of extinction. Priminiary
figures estimate 5000 sq. Km land, 9 lakh trees, 2500 kuccha and 200
pucca houses, 500 wells and about 30 govt school along with other building
shall be doomed under water.

Earlier instances of Rihand dam, NTPC, coal mines etc. In such an apathetic
situation the innocent poor traumatized people, for securing of their life and
livelihood are demanding the following.

1. The people should not be uprooted from the land and forest of their
ancestral settlements.
2. An independent high –level committee should be setup to enquire into
the anomalies under the project mainly –
 Misuse of public funds under the project due to negligence
of the project authority.

 Violations of recommendations given by the CWC and

Environmental Board.
3. The compensation as paid to illiterate and ignorant people 25 year
should be seen in the light of guidance’s given by the Supreme Court
in the context of displacement and rehabilitation.
4. The relief and rehabilitation policy should strictly follow the guidelines
and recommendation given by the NWDTA (Narmada Water Dispute
Award)
5. A National Rehabilitation policy should be drafted with the
consultation of displaced people.

These demands should be seen in the light of resettlement and

rehabilitation national standards/SC verdicts/ and international convents
to which India is also signatory.

Resettlement and Rehabilitation

India lacks a national policy on Rehabilitation Resettlement primarily

because this area as per the seventh schedule of the constitution is
responsibility of the state and not the center. Kanhar project, has reiterated
the fact that resettlement and environment are if only secondary importance
to the Government of India. Even after authenticated figures of massive
involuntary displacement and planned implementation of rehabilitation if
any. Established as synonyms of power since II world war by industrial and
developing countries have built high dams in rural forest and frontier
regions. Usually this development has resulted in the incursion of lands of
indigenous and tribal people. The special socio – economic situation of these
groups first gave rise to measures to protect person subject to involuntary
resettlement.

The earlier international recognition of involuntary resettlement occurred in

1957 in that year International Labour Organization (ILO) passed
Convention 107, which required that indigenous or tribal oustee families be
“provided with lands of quality at least equal to that of the lands
previously occupied by them, suitable to provide for their present need
and future development.” India subsequently ratified the convention in
September, 29, 1958. So, it becomes mandatory for the authorities to follow
the convention ratified by India.

In 1980, the worlds bank adopted for the first time a general resettlement
policy. Indeed the World Bank made clear in the policy that there must not
only be resettlement but also rehabilitation. Therefore the policy provided
that, upon resettlement, displaced persons should “regain at least their
previous standard of living”. Such persons were to include those displaced
by dams and canals.

Further in 1982, the World Bank developed a policy specified designed for
tribal people. The policy provided that the customary usage of tribal land
should be respected and required that the tribal people should only be
displaced when the borrowing country can safeguard the integrity and well
being of the tribal people effectively through resolution or other measures.

Compensation:

With the court’s 1993 decision in Nilabati Behera v.. State of Orissa, a
constitutional right to monetary compensation for the unlawful deprivation
of an article 21 right, seems well entrenched. Articulating the underlying
principle on which the liability of the state arose for payment of
compensation, the court stated. It may be mentioned straight away that
award of compensation in a proceeding under article 32 by this court… is a
remedy available in public law based on strict liability for contravention of
fundamental rights to which the principle of sovereign immunity does not
apply.

Although the numbers of people who will lose land in this project is an
estimate, those who do lose land to the canal and irrigation system are
offered compensation under the Land Acquisition Act of 1894. The
acquisition of land under the Land Acquisition Act, though has often meant
that farmer who lose their land are compensated at rates substantially lower
than replacement costs. Thus, villagers living in the path of the canal have
not been provided with resettlement benefits, as World Bank policy has
required. In the case of the Kanhar, India and the affected states bound
themselves to meet stricter standards for resettlement and rehabilitation
that the government has agreed to in the past. India has ratified convention
107 in 1958. Furthermore, India and the concerned states signed the credit
and loan agreements with the World Bank that contain explicit standards
for resettlement and rehabilitation. Despite formal agreement to comply with
these standards through India did not comply with the norms.

Why the International treaties and conventions should be adhered to?

In India, it is a settled principal of law that international treaties and

conevants to which India is signatory, as well as established principles of
international law, are to be read into the legal regime and fundamental
rights of citizen of India. The Supreme Court has held in a large number of
cases that International treaties and convenants can be read into the
domestic fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution. In
Gramaphone Co. of India Ltd. Vs. B.B Pandey this court has held that:

There can be no question that nations must march with the international
community and the municipal law must respect rules of international law
even as nations respect international opinion. The comity of nations requires
that rules of international law may be accommodated in the municipal law
even through express legislative sanction provided they do not run into the
conflict with the act of parliament. The doctrine of incorporation also
recognizes the position that the rules of international law are incorporated
into the national law and considered being under an obligation within
legitimate limits, to so interpret the municipal status as to avoid
confrontation with the comity of nations or the well established principles of
international law.

Further in PUCL vs. Union of India this court while dealing with the
applicability of the International Convenants on Civil and Political Rights
1966 held that “for it present it would suffice to state that the provisions of
the convenants and which elucidate and go to effectuate the fundamentals
rights guaranteed by our constitution, can certainly be relied upon by court
as facets of those fundamental rights and hence enforceable as such”

In CERC vs. Union of India this court directed that the rules framed by the
international labour organization for safety for the use of asbestos shall be
binding in the convention and all industries in the country. This was also on
the principle that International conventions can be read into domestic law.
The WCD (World Commission on Dam) also relies upon international
convention such as ILO 107 and ILO 169, the former of which has been
ratified and is binding on India. Clearly on the basis of settled principles,
these international declarations, treaties and charter can and would guide
the elucidation of the domestic law in the country, in particular the
fundamental rights.