Ken-Betwa hyperlink: Villagers in Madhya Pradesh allege uncooked deal over compensation, livelihood loss
Away from the election buzz in Madhya Pradesh is Khamri, a small village in Panna district that lies deep contained in the buffer zone of the Panna Tiger Reserve. Over 50 per cent of Khamri’s inhabitants belongs to the Scheduled Tribe (ST) group and is engaged in marginal farming and harvest of minor forest produce. Many migrate to Punjab and Maharashtra for labour through the monsoons.
The village of 110 households is considered one of 25 whose land can be acquired for the formidable Ken-Betwa River linking challenge that’s estimated to value Rs.45,000 crore. The Ken River is the lifeline of the perennially drought-prone Bundelkhand area and it flows by means of the tiger reserve. Now the river is underneath the highlight because the place of the nation’s first river-linking challenge.
The linking of the rivers, it’s claimed, will assist switch surplus water from the Ken basin in Madhya Pradesh to the Betwa River basin bordering Uttar Pradesh.
The purpose of the Ken-Betwa Hyperlink Undertaking is to offer ingesting water and irrigation amenities to Chhatarpur, Tikamgarh, Panna, and Damoh districts in Madhya Pradesh; and Jhansi, Lalitpur, Mahoba, and Banda districts in Uttar Pradesh.
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Nationwide Water Improvement Company
Whereas environmentalists have lengthy pointed to the inherent dangers in river-linking, from deforestation and altered fish inhabitants to ecological imbalances and adjustments in monsoon patterns, the extra speedy points appear to be that of land acquisition.
There are stories of flawed land surveys and villagers have raised formal objections on undervaluation and have expressed issues over their lack of livelihoods.
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In Madhya Pradesh, the proposed 77 m Daudhan dam, a key element of the challenge, will displace 5,228 households in Chhatarpur district and 1,400 households in Panna district as a result of land submergence and dam-related land acquisition, an official from the Ken Betwa Hyperlink Undertaking Authority mentioned.
Discover served in Daudhan village, which is the situation of the challenge dam. Daudhan lies contained in the core of the Panna tiger reserve.
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Nikhil Ghanekar/Land Battle Watch
Over 10 per cent of the tiger habitat can be anticipated to be underneath water as soon as the dam comes up. The dam will submerge 5,578 hectares of forest inside Panna Tiger Reserve, of which 4,206.05 hectares is within the core space and 1,372.42 hectares is within the buffer zone.
On September 9, the State Cupboard cleared a particular bundle for rehabilitation and resettlement. The broad contours of this bundle embrace a fee of Rs.12.50 lakh per hectare of personal land owned and Rs.12.50 lakh per hectare for these with titles on income or forest land.
Lack of readability on land acquisition
For displacement from properties, the bundle presents both allotment of plots and Rs.6.5 lakh in city areas, or Rs.7 lakh in rural areas primarily based on availability. If households don’t need to go for plots, then the bundle supplies for a lump sum rehabilitation of Rs.12.5 lakh per household.
In Khamri, Mahesh Prasad, a 48-year-oldbelonging to the Gond tribe, is disenchanted with the compensation provided. “It [the package] gained’t maintain us in the long term. We can be taken far-off from our forest sources. There can be livelihood issues within the occasions forward,” he mentioned.
In neighbouring Chhatarpur district, villages in Shahpura can be submerged. Chandra Pratap Parmar, 25, stood on the terrace of his uncle’s dwelling and pointed to a number of farms throughout a big space and mentioned that stones with survey markings had been left within the farms, however individuals whose farms have been surveyed haven’t obtained any compensation notices. “There may be little or no readability on the acquisition course of,” he mentioned. In Shahpura, solely a handful of households have obtained notices.
Chandra Pratap Parmar factors to farms surveyed for land acquisition in Shahpura.
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Nikhil Ghanekar/Land Battle Watch
Whereas Shahpura falls within the submergence space of the Daudhan dam, Khamri is earmarked for acquisition to compensate for the lack of 6,017 hectares of forest that can be submerged inside Panna reserve owing to the dam. Whereas granting forest clearance to the challenge, the Union authorities allowed the acquisition of non-forest land in lieu of the lack of Panna’s huge forest space. [2605201718492016.pdf (forestsclearance.nic.in)]
Two key sorts of land acquisition will occur for the dam. One for submerged lands and one for compensatory afforestation.
This reporter spoke to affected individuals throughout eight villages in Chhatarpur and Panna districts. They expressed displeasure in regards to the particular bundle and criticised the district administration’s conduct of what they referred to as flawed land surveys. The principle concern of the villagers is that India’s first river linking challenge meant to finish the water and financial woes of the area might exacerbate their livelihood struggles.
The particular bundle introduced in September got here after affected villagers, particularly from Chhatarpur, protested a number of occasions to hunt truthful compensation.
“Whereas environmentalists have lengthy pointed to the inherent dangers in river-linking, from deforestation and altered fish inhabitants to ecological imbalances and adjustments in monsoon patterns, the extra speedy points appears to be that of land acquisition.”
“The district administration and state authorities should not have sincere intentions. Had individuals not protested, they might have settled on a decrease compensation of Rs.3.5 lakh per hectare,” mentioned Amit Bhatnagar, a Chhatarpur-based social activist who’s preventing on the Aam Aadmi Get together ticket for the Bijawar seat within the November 17 Meeting election.
Bhatnagar has made the challenge a key situation of his ballot marketing campaign and has prior to now as effectively organised project-affected individuals across the situation of displacement.
Neha Bagga, spokesperson for the BJP in Madhya Pradesh, informed Frontline that the social gathering and the State authorities would take all of the issues and problems with the affected individuals critically. “We will give them rightful compensation. If the individuals have objections these can be thought of and we’ll resolve them,” Bagga mentioned.
What’s the challenge and why are villagers frightened?
The purpose of the hyperlink challenge is to offer ingesting water and irrigation amenities to Chhatarpur, Tikamgarh, Panna, and Damoh districts in Madhya Pradesh; and Jhansi, Lalitpur, Mahoba, and Banda districts in Uttar Pradesh.
As a part of the Section-I of the challenge, the Daudhan dam can be constructed on the Ken contained in the core space of the Panna Tiger Reserve. This dam, which is able to retailer water to be transported to Betwa basin in hyperlink canals, will submerge over 90 sq km of space, of which 60 sq km lies contained in the tiger reserve.
The Ken river close to the Madla gate of Panna Tiger Reserve. As a part of the Section-I of the hyperlink challenge, the Daudhan dam can be constructed on the Ken contained in the core space of the Panna Tiger Reserve.
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Nikhil Ghanekar/Land Battle Watch
9 villages in Chhatarpur district, unfold over 1595.97 hectares, can be acquired as they fall within the submergence zone, as per the notification issued by the Chhatarpur Collector. And 16 villages—11 in Panna district and 5 in Chhatarpur district—unfold throughout 2,357 hectares, can be affected as a result of acquisition for compensatory afforestation, as per the Union Surroundings Ministry and the Madhya Pradesh Forest Division data.
The Ministry for Surroundings, Forest and Local weather Change (MoEFCC) granted the ultimate forest clearance lately, thus paving the way in which for work to start on the dam contained in the Panna reserve. “The work on mutation of land within the title of the forest division is underneath manner and a restricted working space permission has been granted for beginning work on the dam,” mentioned Brijendra Jha, area director, Panna Tiger Reserve.
The tender for Daudhan dam was floated in August 2023 and it’s to be applied in eight years, mentioned Bhopal Singh, Director Basic, Nationwide Water Improvement Company, which is implementing the challenge.
Villagers allege flawed acquisition surveys, demand greater compensation
Villagers have been exchanging notes and have discovered errors and omissions throughout official surveys.
In Chhatarpur’s Kupi village, Deepak Yadav, 29, factors to an bizarre wall that his dwelling shares together with his neighbour Basant Lal Gupta, 46. Native income officers surveyed his neighbour’s dwelling for acquisition however didn’t serve Deepak Yadav an acquisition discover.
Deepak Yadav and Basant Lal Gupta exterior their properties in Kupi, Chhatarpur. Native income officers surveyed Gupta’s dwelling for acquisition however didn’t serve Deepak Yadav an acquisition discover.
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Nikhil Ghanekar/Land Battle Watch
“Please assist me perceive, if my neighbour’s dwelling and this widespread wall is accounted for contained in the submergence zone of the dam, how will my dwelling not be affected?” Yadav requested. He wrote to the native income division in August searching for clarification and requested a survey and doable compensation for his dwelling. As per the acquisition discover obtained by his neighbour Gupta, their home, a pucca construction, was valued at Rs.2.58 lakh, moreover the compensation for the land.
Deepak Yadav’s letter searching for survey for compensation. “If my neighbour’s dwelling and this widespread wall is accounted for contained in the submergence zone of the dam, how will my dwelling not be affected?” Yadav requested.
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Nikhil Ghanekar/Land Battle Watch
In August, villagers submitted a petition to the SDM’s (sub-divisional Justice of the Peace) workplace with their objections. When questioned, the Bijawar SDM didn’t provide any remark.
Talking of the Rs.12.5 lakh rehabilitation grant, the native SDM of Bijawar held a gathering with villagers in Kupi in Might, informing residents {that a} website in Kishangarh, 16 km south of the village, was recognized as their resettlement colony. Poonam Vishwakarma, 38, who works as a prepare dinner within the native highschool, mentioned, “There may be uncertainty over availability of plots. This one-time grant isn’t sufficient. Displacement and relocation will disturb our lives within the years forward,” she mentioned.
When requested about outreach by political representatives, she mentioned, “Not a soul from any social gathering has come right here to speak to us in regards to the displacement.”
The Proper to Honest Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (LARR Act) states that in case of an irrigation challenge, so far as doable, a minimal of 1 acre ought to be allotted to every household that owns agricultural land within the affected space. This land ought to be given within the command space of the challenge, that’s, the world that will get water from the irrigation challenge. Additional, every individual included within the file of rights from the affected household ought to be thought of for this entitlement.
“The principle concern of the villagers is that India’s first river linking challenge meant to finish the water and financial woes of the area might exacerbate their livelihood struggles.”
Earlier than the particular bundle was introduced, affected households obtained notices with valuation particulars of their properties, bushes, and farms. The valuation by the Bijawar SDM and the land acquisition officer was primarily based on circle charges. The Madhya Pradesh authorities’s particular bundle states that households can both go for the Collector’s compensation and solatium (which is 100 per cent of the compensation) or the particular bundle, whichever is greater.
Chhatarpur Collector Sandeep G.R. didn’t reply to queries mailed to him relating to the grievances of project-affected individuals and Panna Collector Harjinder Singh refused to remark, directing this reporter to Deputy Collector Rohit Verma. Verma couldn’t be reached regardless of repeated makes an attempt.
Impression on livelihoods
Dayaram, 40, a panchayat member of Koni village in Panna mentioned that the displacement would have long-term impacts. He demanded that the federal government enhance its bundle considerably. “We want not less than 5 acres per household and not less than Rs.30 lakh per grownup member of a household. Nothing else can be sufficient,” he mentioned.
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A social affect evaluation research performed in December 2014 had famous that land acquisition would result in lack of cultivable land, which is a key supply of livelihood. Large and medium landholders would develop into both small or marginal farmers, thus dramatically lowering earnings from farming, the research mentioned. The research additionally famous that earnings from minor forest produce was the second greatest earnings stream after farming within the proposed dam space.
The observations from the research echo these on the bottom, together with in these villages which are to be displaced for compensatory afforestation.
Rajesh Tiwari (proper) of Gahdara village mentioned that Gahdara and the 20 different villages now being acquired for the dam had been added to the Panna tiger reserve’s buffer zone in 2012. In response to him, the forest division had include folded arms again then searching for their cooperation to save lots of tigers from extinction.
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Nikhil Ghanekar/Land Battle Watch
Sada Rani, 32, of Gahdara village within the buffer zone of the Panna Tiger Reserve mentioned that her household’s 10-acre farmland was divided between her husband and his two brothers. Farming and the sale of tendu leaves are their two essential sources of earnings for them, with the tendu earnings key throughout summer time. Rani worries that dropping each land and entry to forest might result in livelihood struggles for the household. “It’s going to throw us right into a nook. We must exit to the cities on the lookout for work,” she mentioned.
Rajesh Tiwari, 48, additionally of Gahdara, pointed to the irony of their impending displacement. Tiwari recalled that Gahdara and the 20 different villages, now being acquired for the dam, had been added to the Panna tiger reserve’s buffer zone in 2012. Again then, Tiwari mentioned, the forest division got here with folded arms searching for their cooperation to save lots of tigers from extinction. Now, Tiwari mentioned, the federal government is okay with drowning the reserve and displacing us. “Once they wanted us, we helped them with our coronary heart and soul. It’s time for them to assist us.”
Nikhil Ghanekar is an unbiased journalist primarily based in Delhi. He writes on surroundings, local weather change, and coverage points. This text was supported by Land Battle Watch, an unbiased community of researchers finding out land conflicts, local weather change, and pure useful resource governance in India.
