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DAM-L LS: PR: Scrap Maheshwar Project, Refuse Hermes Guarantee (fwd)



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subject: LS: PR: Scrap Maheshwar Project, Refuse Hermes Guarantee
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Narmada Bachao Andolan
Jail Road, Mandleshwar, M.P.
Telefax: 07283-33162,
E-mail: nobigdam@vsnl.com

PRESS NOTE
Mandleshwar, 21.07.2000

SCRAP MAHESHWAR PROJECT, REFUSE HERMES GUARANTEE

Around 5000 people gathered at Maheshwar affected village Pathrad 
today to welcome the recently released German Development Ministry 
report on the status and possibility of rehabilitation of the 
affected people of the Maheshwar Project impact zone. At the 
initiative of the elected people's representatives of the area, the 
affected people passed an unanimous resolution calling upon the 
German government to refuse the Siemens application for a German 
guarantee to this Project. The resolution also asked all foreign 
companies to leave this destructive Project, sooner rather than 
later. The resolution urged the State and Central governments to 
scrap this Project and implement cheaper and better energy 
alternatives.

Today on the 21st of July, 2000 a beautiful and spectacular boat 
rally was held at Pathrad on the Narmada river. The boats that had 
been brought in by boatspeople- the Kewats and the Kahars sailing all 
night from villages several kms. upstream, but in the submergence of 
the Maheshwar Project, sported brilliant sails as they floated on the 
rain swollen monsoon river, many sails having been painted by 
renowned artists from all over India. The air was thick with slogans, 
especially: Kewat - Kahar ka ek hi nara / Nahi chodenge Narmada 
kinara (The Kewats and Kahars have only one cry , we will never leave 
the banks of the Narmada). The boat rally was followed by a large 
sammelan of thousands of affected men and women along with the 
majority of the elected representatives of the area, as well as 
supporters from all over India. These included people from Bargi dam, 
Sardar Sarovar, Adivasi Shramik Sanghatan, Betul, representatives 
from Delhi, Hoshangabad, Ahmedabad, Jabalpur, Tamil Nadu and Indore.

It may be noted that in a very significant development, a hard 
hitting report of the Development Ministry of Germany made public 
last fortnight has severely indicted the social and environmental 
viability of the Maheshwar project and found that the rehabilitation 
of the thousands of affected families is well nigh impossible. The 
report was an investigation of the Siemens application for an export 
guarantee to be given to a 5300 million Rs. tied loan to be given by 
the private German Hypo-Vereinsbank to the Maheshwar Project for the 
purchase of turbines from Siemens. The investigation team comprised 
of renowned experts from India, Germany and the U.S.

This report stated that even at this stage there was significant 
uncertainty about the numbers of families and the area to be affected 
by the Project, that the "Land for land" principle of the state 
rehabilitation Policy had been flagrantly violated by the Project 
authorities, more, that the principle of land even to the landless 
stipulated by the Ministry of Environment's conditional clearance had 
been violated. Rather the Project authorities had tried to compel the 
affected people to accept cash compensation, and that those who had 
accepted were in an economic position whereby they could never hoped 
to have their livelihoods restored. The report noted that the Project 
authorities simply have no cultivable lands to rehabilitate the 
affected people, and that if all the affected people were included in 
the affected category and were to be compensated by land, the cost of 
the new package would be several times larger than the original 
package and that the Project might even become financiallly unviable.

The program at the river began with a Narmada Bhajan. The Kewats and 
Kahars standing in the scores of boats bobbing on the river, spoke 
about what it means to live on the banks of the Narmada. Babu 
bhai,Kahar, from Pathrad said that we,the Kewats and Kahars are the 
children of the Narmada and will never leave her banks or let this 
dam be built even if we have to  face submergence.

Mangat Verma, a fisherman and leader of the Andolan from the first 
village Lepa on which the dam is to be  built said that "We welcome 
the report because it has highlighted the issue of our livelihoods. 
For generations our ancestors have led prosperous lives along the 
banks of this river fishing, doing cultivating on the river draw-down 
and now quarrying sand as well. Yet thousands of such families who 
are losing their livelihoods because of the submergence of their 
resource base, have not even been counted as Project affected and the 
few whose names have been included were sought to be dispensed off by 
a pittance in cash. This report has raised the question of this 
exclusion and emphasised that we have to be compensated by giving us 
5 acres land per family as per the conditions of the Environmental 
clearance."

In the Jan sammelan organised on the banks of the river Narmada, 
Matamai of Pathrad said that we women have been at the fore of the 
struggle against the Project that threatens our communities and our 
children.Yet the government and the Project authorities have only 
replied to our valid concerns and questions with the use of lathis 
and violent repression. This report has been able to bring out the 
repressive nature of the process.

Kalu bhai of Village Mardana said that it is clear to the people to 
be affected by the Mahehswar Project and a matter of deep anxiety for 
them that the submergence would be much larger than anticipated by 
the authorities. In fact the authorities have deliberately minimised 
and trivialised the extent of the submergence. The report has 
highlighted this.  Kalu bhai said that the struggle is now rapidly 
moving towards victory.

A large number of elected people's representatives of the area from 
the district, Janpad and village Panchayat levels were present for 
the program. Kala bai , Vice Chairwoman of the Maheshwar Janpad read 
out a resolution on behalf of the elected representatives calling 
upon the Indian and state governments to scrap this unviable and 
destructive Project, in the light of this report, and implement 
cheaper and less destructive energy alternatives, such as pump 
storage, biomass based generation, better energy saving appliances, 
etc. This was enthusiastically endorsed by thousands of people 
gathered on the occasion. Manish Chauhan from the LIC trade union at 
Indore said that their unions would support the struggle of the 
affected people and oppose the induction of funds from LIC, GIC and 
IDBI into the privatized Maheshwar Project.

Alok Agarwal, leader of the movement said that this report has once 
again confirmed the truth of the issues raised by the Andolan. It has 
exposed the bankruptcy of the rehabilitation process of the Project 
authorities. We have made significant progress in our struggle 
against this destructive Project. The Project has not been able to 
achieve financial closure for the last three years because of the 
mass struggle. This report will help stop the Rs.530 crore loan from 
the German bank. We are confident that we will be able to scrap this 
destructive Project.

He said that the real challenge now before the people of the state 
and the nation is not to let the nexus of multinational corporations, 
private companies and politicians sell away our vast energy 
infrastructure to private companies and reverse important social 
policies such as subsidised energy to agriculture and to the poor. 
Critising the proposed Energy Reform bill, 2000 of the government of 
Madhya Pradesh, to be brought before the State Assembly during this 
session, he said that "what we require are not guarantees for the 
profits of multinationals but the guarantee of energy to every common 
citizen of this country."

Chittaroopa Palit

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