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DAM-L LS: US Organisations urge President to halt dam work (fwd)
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Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2000 15:48:54 -0800
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From: NBA <baroda@narmada.org> (by way of Patrick McCully)
Subject: LS: US Organisations urge President to halt dam work
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subject: LS: US Organisations urge President to halt dam work
<center>
Narmada Bachao Andolan
B 13 Shivam Flats, Ellora Park, Baroda 390 007
Ph. 0265-382232 baroda@narmada.
</center>Press Note - 15.11.2000
<center>Over 60 US organisations call upon the President of India
to halt the work on SSP right away
</center>Over 60 organisations in United States, including
environmental, labour, consumer, theatre, women_s, peace, minority and
human rights_ groups, have written to the President of India,
Mr.K.R.Narayanan to immediately stop the construction of the dam, using
his special powers, guaranteed by the Constitution of India. In a
letter sent out yesterday (14th Nov.) they have called upon the
President to:
<fontfamily><param>Symbol</param>_ </fontfamily><bold>protect the lives
of adivasi communities by immediately halting construction of the
Sardar Sarovar Project.
</bold><fontfamily><param>Symbol</param>_ </fontfamily><bold>ensure
complete resettlement and rehabilitation of the thousands already
affected by the reservoir, canal system, construction site and other
related project infrastructure.
</bold><fontfamily><param>Symbol</param>_ </fontfamily><bold>constitute
an independent commission for a complete, participatory review of all
aspects of the Sardar Sarovar Project.
</bold>The letter further says, _This ruling (of Supreme Court) comes
despite overwhelming evidence that the project will cause environmental
degradation and jeopardize the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of
people, including a large proportion of adivasis (tribals). The project
was cleared although no credible environmental studies or
rehabilitation plans were ever completed.
_The majority judgment claims that "a properly drafted [resettlement
and rehabilitation] plan would improve living standards of displaced
persons after displacement" and has given project authorities four
weeks to draw up a plan for the 200,000 people to be displaced by the
reservoir. A plan was supposed to have been completed by 1981, as per
the Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal Award. It is not credible that the
authorities who have failed to produce a credible plan in 20 years can
complete one in a month's time_.
On the violations of Environmental norms during the letter said,
_Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, the majority judgment
by Justices Kirpal and Anand states that "experience does not show that
the construction of a large dam is not cost effective or leads to
ecological or environmental degradation. On the contrary there has been
ecological upgradation with the construction of large dams." This
opinion flies in the face of a huge corpus of evidence showing the
massive environmental impacts of dams in India and around the world_.
_In his minority judgment, Justice Bharucha has pointed out that
construction has been pushed forward in systematic violation of legal
requirements for environmental clearances_.
Urging the President to Stop Construction immediately, the made it
clear that the, _..... it is clear that any further construction of the
Sardar Sarovar dam will have grave consequences. It is imperative that
immediate steps be taken to safeguard against the blatant violation of
the right to life and livelihood of the many adivasi communities in the
Narmada Valley. Otherwise, a serious human tragedy will develop in the
coming monsoon as homes and fields of thousands of families will be
flooded_.
The signatories of the letter include:
Korinna Horta, Environmental Defense, Washington, DC
Michelle Chan, Friends of the Earth, Washington, DC
Mayurika Poddar, Seva International, Okemos, Michigan
Amit Srivastava, TRAC/Corporate Watch, San Francisco, California
Patrick McCully, International Rivers Network
Vinay Kumar, Friends of River Narmada
Soren Ambrose, 50 Years Is Enough Network, Washington, DC
Jeff Miller, Alameda Creek Alliance, Canyon, California
Janet Gottschalk, Alliance for Justice, Washington, DC
Vidhi Parthasarthy, Asha for Education - Madison Chapter, Madison,
Wisconsin
Kay Treakle, Bank Information Center, Washington, DC
Daisy Pitkin, Campaign for Labor Rights, Washington, DC
Barbara Larcom, Casa Baltimore/Limay, Baltimore, Maryland
Kay Dellinger, Coalition Against Global Exploitation, Baltimore,
Maryland
Ian McIntosh, Cultural Survival, Boston, Massachusetts
Bill Walker, Environmental Working Group, Oakland, California
Shrikumar Poddar, India Foundation, East Lansing, Michigan
Rev. Len D. Beyea, Interfaith Alliance for Human Rights, Santa Cruz,
California
Bruce Carpenter, New York Rivers United, Rome, New York
Daniella Chace, Organic Consumers Association, Mackay, Idaho
Meena Natarajan, Pangea World Theater, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Cecilia R. Vinas, Peacemaking Committee, Swarthmore Presbyterian
Church, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania and others.
<bold>Joe Athialy
</bold>Delhi Tel: Contacts:
Vimal / Bipin / Joe - 2256394, 2250632
Shripad / Nandini / Clifton / Vijayan: 6426783, 6237724
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