[436] in peace2
Action Alert: An Appeal for Hope!
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Vinay Kumar - Athena UID)
Fri Oct 27 00:14:38 2000
From: Vinay Kumar - Athena UID <vkumar@ai.mit.edu>
Message-Id: <200010270336.XAA14751@visual-cortex.mit.edu>
To: aid-boston@egroups.com, asha-boston@egroups.com, secular@MIT.EDU,
sec-dem-sa@MIT.EDU, peace-list@MIT.EDU
Date: Thu, 26 Oct 2000 23:36:41 -0400 (EDT)
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Dear Friends,
Here is an appeal from the Friends of the River Narmada to take
urgently needed action to support the struggle of the people of the
Narmada valley at a critical juncture. With the Supreme Court allowing
the Sardar Sarovar Dam to go ahead, the movement has exhausted all
alternatives within the establisment. The only ray of hope lies
with the President of India and the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.
As people from the mainstream, we are obligated to do our utmost to
demand justice and truth from the establishment. I request you to take
this appeal seriously and write (email, fax or send a letter) to the
President of India and the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh immediately.
Details on the issue and sample letters are provided below. This is
the minimum we can do for the people of the Narmada valley at this
juncture.
Please forward as widely as possible.
In solidarity,
vinay
Friends of the River Narmada
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ACTION ALERT - October 26, 2000
******** AN APPEAL FOR HOPE! ********
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Write to the President of India,
and the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh
denouncing the recent Supreme Court ruling and urging them
to stop construction of Sardar Sarovar Project
**** To send an instant email to the Indian government, go to
http://www.narmada.org/action-alerts/oct26.2000.letters.html ****
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The fight has to go on. Human justice will come. People's faith in our
fight gives us strength. Be with us, spare time for us."
-- activist Medha Patkar, Narmada Bachao Andolan
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On October 18, the Indian Supreme Court dealt a huge blow to the Narmada
valley and to people everywhere fighting for control of their resources and
lives when it ruled 2 to 1 to allow construction of the Sardar Sarovar
Project to proceed. This illogical decision comes despite overwhelming
evidence that claimed project benefits will not materialize, better
alternatives are available and rehabilitation of the half a million people
affected by the project is impossible.
The Sardar Sarovar Project would flood 200,000 people from their homes to
make way for the project's reservoir and affect the livelihoods of hundreds
of thousands more due to construction of the extensive irrigation system,
compensatory wildlife sanctuary and associated infrastructure. Villagers
and activists with the Narmada Bachao Andolan (Save the Narmada Movement)
have waged an intense battle vowing to remain on their lands even as
floodwaters rising behind the partly built dam have threatened to submerge
their lands.
The State of Madhya Pradesh has the largest share of oustees (official
estimates: 80% of all oustees, 33,014 families). But, the MP Government has
filed an affidavit in court stating that it does not have land to resettle
people. On October 20th, the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, in an
interview to Tehelka.com, clearly stated that he does not have any arable
land to give to the oustees and would have to give cash compensation.
This is a violation of the Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal award.
[ Ref: http://www.tehelka.com/currentaffairs/OCT2000/ca102000diggy.htm ]
Contrary to all such available evidence about resettlement and
rehabilitation, the majority ruling allows the dam to be raised to 90m
immediately. But, since all oustees upto 90m have not yet been resettled,
the Court has violated its own order that the Narmada Tribunal order has
to be respected. Further, the Court has directed that every 5m increase in
height requires an approval from the Relief & Rehabilitation subgroup of
the Narmada Control Authority. Based on past precedent, this has been
easy to obtain.
The majority judgement says: "The 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". Furthermore, it concludes
that in most cases of displacement (voluntary or otherwise), the oustees have
in fact been left better off after their displacement. These conclusions fly
in the face of a huge body of evidence from biologists, ecologists,
economists, water resource experts and social scientists, as well as the
direct experiences of tens of millions of people.
We appeal to one and all concerned to act now, for the cause of the people
in the Narmada Valley, for the cause of justice, for the cause of
democracy, and for keeping the hope alive in people's movements and
people's action. The time to act is now!
We urge you to send letters to the Indian President and the Chief Minister
of Madhya Pradesh denouncing the ruling and urging them to take steps to
protect the rights of people in the Narmada Valley. Sample letters are
provided below.
In addition, if organizations wish to issue organizational endorsements
and write letters, please contact Vinay Kumar at vinay@narmada.org.
In solidarity,
Friends of the River Narmada.
--------------
FOR MORE INFO:
--------------
Go to http://www.narmada.org
Friends of River Narmada,
Subramanya Sastry (subbu@narmada.org)
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TAKE ACTION: WRITE TO THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT!
--------------------------------------------
We encourage you to fax your letter since it has much greater impact than
email. The fax numbers are given below. If you can follow up your faxing
with an actual surface mail to the addresses given below, that would be
useful too.
**** To send an instant email to the Indian government, go to
http://www.narmada.org/action-alerts/oct26.2000.letters.html ****
1. WRITE TO INDIAN PRESIDENT K.R. NARAYANAN
----------------------------
Write to President Narayanan asking him to use his constitutional powers
to intervene to protect the rights of the adivasi (tribal people) of the
Narmada. Schedule V of the Indian Constitution authorizes the President
to declare any law or government order inapplicable in tribal areas.
Dr. K.R. Narayanan,
The Honorable President of India
Rashtrapati Bhavan
New Delhi, 110 001
India
Fax +91 11 3019545, 91 11 3014570, +91 11 3017290
Email: pressecy@alpha.nic.in
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SAMPLE LETTER
---------------
***** We encourage you to write your own letter, however short, or at least
tailor the following sample letters for more impact! *****
Dear President K.R. Narayanan,
I am writing to express my full solidarity with the Narmada Bachao Andolan
(Save the Narmada Movement) in their struggle for justice. The recent
Indian Supreme Court decision authorizing the completion of the
Sardar Sarovar Project is a shocking blow to democracy and people's movements
in the country.
The oustees of the dam till 90m. have not yet been rehabilitated as required
by the Narmada Tribunal. The Madhya Pradesh Government has filed an affidavit
in court stating that it has no land available for rehabilitation. Therefore,
the Court has violated its own order that the Narmada Tribunal order has to
be respected. Further, the ruling also jeopardizes the economic, social and
physical well being of hundreds of thousands of people, over 60% of whom are
Dalits and adivasis.
The minority judgement by Justice Bharucha has called for immediate stoppage
of all construction work because of failure to obtain environmental clearance
for the project. But, the majority judgement has completely ignored the
enviromental aspects of the dam.
In your remarkably sensitive address to the nation on Republic Day this year
(Jan 26, 2000), you said: ".. and dams over rivers will rise to prevent
floods, generate electricity and irrigate dry lands for cultivation.
But that should not cause ecological and environmental devastation, and
the uprooting of human settlements, especially of tribals and the poor."
I urge you to act on this sentiment and exercise the authority vested in
your office and provided for in Schedule V of the Indian Constitution
to uphold the constitutional rights of the adivasi people.
Sincerely,
Name
Address
2. WRITE TO THE MADHYA PRADESH CHIEF MINISTER
---------------------------------------------
Write to the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh state urging him to challenge
the recent ruling and push for an immediate halt to construction on Sardar
Sarovar Project. It is IMPORTANT to put pressure on the Chief Minister
since he admits that his state has no land available to resettle people
whose lands will be submerged. In the past, he has also argued for lowering
the dam height to reduce the number of people displaced and for a review
of the Narmada Tribunal Award.
Shri Digvijay Singh
Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh
Office of the Chief Minister
Vallabh Bhavan
Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
India
Fax: +91 755 540 501
Email: chiefminister@madhyapradesh-india.org
---------------
SAMPLE LETTER
---------------
***** We encourage you to write your own letter, however short, or at least
tailor the following sample letters for more impact! *****
Dear Mr. Digvijay Singh,
I am writing to urge you to push for an immediate stop to construction of
the Sardar Sarovar Project.
In your October 20th interview with Tehelka.com, you reiterated that the
state of Madhya Pradesh does not have any arable land to give to the
oustees. As you know, the Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal states that
people must be given land for resettlement one year prior to submergence.
Since oustees upto 90m construction have not yet been resettled, any
further construction would amount to a violation of the Tribunal order.
I urge you to take a strong stand to stop construction of Sardar Sarovar
Project and protect the lives and livelihoods of people in the Narmada valley.
Sincerely,
Name :
Address :
