Sadar Sarovar Project : Activists’ Hunger Strike in Second Week

HIC

On 8 March 2006, the Narmada Control Authority (NCA) decided to raise the height of the Sardar Sarovar Dam from 110.64 meters to 121.92 metres.

The submergence from increasing the height of the dam would displace over 35,000 families and violate the Indian Supreme Court’s judgment of 2000, which called for resettlement and rehabilitation of the affected to be completed before any increase in dam height.

As per official figures and statements, this increase in the dam height weill affect 24,421 families in 177 villages of Madhya Pradesh. The fertile lands, houses and all properties, including schools, dispensaries and shops of these villages will be submerged if the height of the dam is raised, and the affected families will not have received their promised compensation and adequate resettlement.

To protest this NCA decision and to demand an immediate cessation of construction work on the dam, more than 250 affected people from the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh have mounted an indefinite sit-in (dharna), in Delhi, since 17 March.

Despite the Minister for Water Resources” pronouncement that this NCA decision was premature and the Prime Minister’s assurance that the issue would be immediately addressed, no party has taken any remedial action. Finally, on 29 March 2006, as a last resort in their call for justice, three activists of the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA, Save Narmada Movement), Jamsing Nargave, Bhagwatibai Patidar and Medha Patkar began an indefinite hunger strike. Apart from calling for an immediate halt to the dam construction, they are also demanding that the people affected by the Sardar Sarovar project be rehabilitated in accordance with the Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal Award and the Supreme Court orders of October 2000 and March 2005, upholding their right to land-based rehabilitation six months prior to submergence.

In a disturbing development, on the night of 5 April, a force of around 300 police forcefully arrested the peaceful dharna participants, causing injury and hospitalization of Medha Patkar and Jamsing Nargave, who were on the eighth day of their fast, and illegally detaining another 25 activists, whom the police harassed for a few hours and then released. In response, four more people joined the indefinite hunger strike as of 6 April. Now, nine people are on the indefinite hunger strike.

Background information

The Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) is one of the 30 large dams of the Narmada Valley Development Project (NVDP) that began implementation in the late 1980s. The NVDP also counts 135 medium dams and 3,000 small dams, in order to harness the Narmada River and its tributaries.

For the last 20 years, the NBA has been struggling against the human costs of this dam, including the large-scale submergence, the environmental and technical unsoundness of the project, unjust displacement, and failed rehabilitation of the affected.

On 18 October 2000, the Indian Supreme Court issued its final verdict, allowing construction of SSP up to its planned height of 138.68 metres. However, it stipulated that the dam height would be allowed to increase in stages of 5-metres increments, but only after clearance by several controlling authorities. The Supreme Court also upheld the Narmada Water Dispute Tribunal Award (NWDTA) condition that adequate resettlement must precede submergence by at least six months, and that replacement land should be made available to the oustees at least one year in advance before submergence (Clause IX, Subclause IV(2)(iv) and Subclause IV(6)(i)). The Madhya Pradesh government, by giving cash compensation instead of land, is violating these orders, including the most-recent Supreme Court order of 15 March 2005, which reiterated that submergence under the SSP cannot take place till the affected people are given cultivable land.

It is estimated that not even 10% of the total number of affected families have been rehabilitated over these years. That rehabilitation, too, has been rife with problems of uncultivable land as well as the lack of adequate land, housing, water, fuel and fodder. Even under the current dam height, more than 10,000 families are still to be rehabilitated. Already, 6,000 hectares of land have been submerged (of the total estimated 11,000 hectares to be submerged at the present dam height).

Increasing the height of Sardar Sarovar Project to 121.92 metres, would bring 220 villages in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat under submergence, while affecting more than 35,000 families. When so many thousands of families remain without rehabilitation, the decision to raise the height of the dam is an outright violation of the affected persons’ human rights, while also disregarding the concomitant environmental harm.

Legal Aspects

Domestic Laws

Forced eviction and displacement along with submergence and the loss of livelihood, all amount to a violation of the constitutionally guaranteed fundamental right to life guaranteed in Article 21 of the Constitution of India. Reaffirming the principle of indivisibility of all human rights, the fundamental right to life encompasses the right to live with human dignity.

Article 14 of the Constitution of India guarantees equal protection under the laws.[1] The courts have interpreted this provision to guarantee substantive equality and, thus, the State is obliged to take affirmative action in providing facilities and opportunities to the disadvantaged.[2] More significantly, Article 15 directly addresses the principle of equality by prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth, and provides for the special protection of Scheduled Castes and Tribes. Read together, these provisions not only prohibit the exclusion of those marginalized from basic housing needs and land rights, but also oblige the State to take action in redressing these deprivations.

The courts also have interpreted the Indian Constitution as directing the State to ensure “distributive justice.” Distributive justice comprises more than lessening inequalities by differential taxation, giving debt relief or distribution of property owned by one to marry, etc. It also means that those who have been deprived of their properties by unfair means should be restored their property. All such laws may take the form of forced redistribution of wealth as a means of achieving a fair division of material resources.[3]

Human Rights, International Law, and Treaty Violations

The forced displacement of over 35,000 families without adequate resettlement and rehabilitation, would contravene, inter alia, the human right to adequate housing; i.e., the right of all women, men and children to gain and sustain a secure place to live in peace and dignity, as well as their human right to livelihood, food and health.

Through its failure to respect, protect, promote and fulfill the affected peoples’ rights to land, housing, health, and address the special needs of the indigenous peoples [as many of the affected people are adivasis[4] The Indian authorities especially violate the affected Narmada Valley citizens’ entitlements to security of tenure and freedom from dispossession; access to public goods and services; information; participation; compensation, and physical security. All are elements of the right to adequate housing as recognised in international law. Specifically, the authorities have breached their treaty obligations under articles 1, 2, 4, 11, 12, and 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). The State has been violating its obligations as elaborated in the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights General Comments Nos. 4 and 7 on the right to adequate housing and forced evictions. (tribals)], the Indian State violates numerous articles of five of the six UN human rights treaties to which it is bound, especially the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, to which it acceded on 10 July 1979.

In addition to the ICESCR, India also has ratified the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), on 22 September 1994, and acceded to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, on 7 January 2005. The Convention on the Rights of the Child, which India ratified on 10 February 1993, specifically requires that States parties protect the rights of children to adequate housing (Article 27, 3). India also has breached articles 1, 5 and 6 of the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), which it ratified on 4 January 1969.

On 22 April 2004, following up on the reply of the Indian Government received on 23 September 2003 (see above), the United Nations Special Rapporteurs on adequate housing, the human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people, and on the right of health a issued a joint urgent appeal to the Government of India, inquiring into further Sardar Sarovar Dam developments, in particular the decision to raise the height from 100 to 110.64 metres. The Government of India, however, has not responded to date.

The 5 April, violent police attack on the people of the Narmada Valley and their supporters in Delhi, the illegal detention of activists and the forced arrest of Medha Patkar and Jamsing Nargave, also violate article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibits cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and/or punishment, as well as article 17 prohibiting the arbitrary use of force.

The application and consequences of the Sardar Sarovar Project blatantly deny entitlements that are inherent to the human right to adequate housing, including security of tenure; access to public and environmental goods and services; suitability of location and cultural appropriateness of the rehabilitation sites; habitability; freedom from dispossession; damage and destruction; but also information; participation and capacity-building; resettlement; compensation; safe environment; and physical security. All these rights and entitlements are recognized in the international law and treaties to which India is a party.

Action requested:

Please write to the authorities in India urging them to:

i. Stop the construction of the Sardar Sarovar Dam at the present height.

ii. Ensure full land-based rehabilitation according to the provisions of the Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal (NWDT) and Supreme Court.

iii. Direct and empower the Rehabilitation Subgroup of the Narmada Control Authority to ensure that all families affected at the present height receive cultivable land with proper civic amenities. Land must be identified at least one year in advance for families affected at a further height, and all utilities in place six months prior to submergence.

iv. Respect human rights and not resort to use of police force, arbitrary arrests and detentions against the affected people.

v. Release Medha Patkar and Jamsing Nargave immediately, and drop any false charges against them.

vi. Ensure that a thorough and comprehensive assessment of all villages affected and to be affected by the Sardar Sarovar dam is undertaken, and the current status of resettlement and rehabilitation is properly reviewed.

vii. Respect, protect, promote and fulfil the right to adequate housing of the affected people, namely its following elements that are recognised in international law and treaties: security of tenure; access to public goods and services; as well as information; participation; compensation, and physical security.

viii.Guarantee the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout the country, in accordance with international human rights standards, especially the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination, and the International Covenant on the Rights of the Child.

Addresses of Duty-Holders:

President of India

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Azad

Rashtrapati Bhawan

New Delhi 110001

Fax: +91 (0)11 2301–7290; +91 (0)11 2301–7824

Tel: +91 (0)11 2301–4930; Ext 4211, 4400, 4260 (Secretary of the President)
+91 (0)11 2301–3488; Ext 4218 (Personal Secretary of the President)

E-mail: presidentofindia@rb.nic.in

Prime Minister of India

Shri Manmohan Singh

7, Race Course Road

New Delhi 110 001

Fax: +91 (0)11 2301–6857 / 9545 (PM Office)
Tel: +91 (0)11 2301–8668 / 2312 / 8939 (Office);

+91 (0)11 2301–6996 (Joint Secretary); +91 (0)11 2301–8939 (Personal Secretary)
E-mail: manmohan@sansad.nic.in and pmosb@pmo.nic.in

President of Congress Party

Mrs. Sonia Gandhi

10 Janpath

New Delhi 110 001

Fax: +91 (0)11 2301–8651

Tel: +91 (0)11 2301–9080 / 2379…2263

E-mail: soniagandhi@sansad.nic.in

Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment

Meira Kumar

Room No. 202 C – Wing,

Shastri Bhawan

New Delhi 110001

Fax: 91-11-2338-1902

Minister for Water Resources

Prof. Saif-u-Din Soz

Room No. 210
Shram Shakti Bhawan

New Delhi 110001

Fax: +91 (0)11 2371–0804

E-mail: ssaif@sansad.nic.in

Please see the attached Sample Letter.

Kindly inform HLRN of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply to: urgentactions@hlrn.org and schaudhry@hic-sarp.org


Sample letter

Dear Sir/Madam:

We are profoundly disturbed to have received news from the Housing and Land Right’s (HLRN) South Asia Regional Programme (SARP) office regarding the 8 March 2006 decision by the Narmada Control Authority to raise the height of the Sardar Sarovar dam from 110.64 metres to 121.92 metres. We are saddened that the activists of the Narmada Bachao Andolan had to resort to the extreme measure of an indefinite hunger strike since their demands for a halt to the construction of the dam and its harm top citizens, and for the just and proper resettlement of all the affected have been consistently ignored by the Government of India.

We are further shocked by the incidents that occurred on the night of 5 April 2006 when a police force of 300 officers violently arrested demonstrators participating in a peaceful sit-in, illegally detained 25 activists (who were subsequently released after hours of harassment), and the forced hospitalization of Medha Patkar and Jamsing Nargave who were on the eighth day of their indefinite fast.

The increase in the height of the dam would result in the displacement of over 35,000 families due to submergence, and is a violation of the Indian Supreme Court’s judgment of October 2000 and March 2005, which calls for resettlement and rehabilitation of the affected to be completed before any subsequent increase in dam height is undertaken. The recent course of events has resulted in four more people joining the indefinite fast from 6 April. Nine people are currently protesting the dam raising by mounting an indefinite hunger strike .

Though the Government of India agreed to dispatch a team of three ministers to the Narmada Valley to assess the status of resettlement and rehabilitation, we condemn the manner in which the itinerary was changed at the last minute reducing the visit from two days to just one day and omitting from the itinerary critically affected areas that have already suffered submergence. Such a hurried visit seems to affirm that the State is not truly concerned with resettlement and rehabilitation.

The decision taken by the Narmada Control Authority to raise the dam height and the subsequent actions exhibited by government personnel contravene Indian constitutional law and violate India’s international human rights treaty obligations.

Specifically, forced evictions result from the fact that communities are unable to gain and secure legal tenure to their homes or properties, of which the dam projects are only one of the many obstacles that the Indian government poses.

Moreover, through its failure to respect, protect, promote and fulfill the affected peoples’ rights to land, housing, health, and the special rights of the indigenous peoples [as many of the affected are adivasis (tribals)], the Indian State violates numerous articles of five of the six UN human rights treaties to which it is bound, especially the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights that it acceded to on 10 July 1979.[5] The Indian authorities especially violate those citizens’ entitlements to security of tenure and freedom from dispossession; access to public goods and services; information; participation; compensation, and physical security. All are elements of the right to adequate housing as recognised in international law. Specifically, the authorities have breached their treaty obligations under articles 1, 2, 4, 11, 12, and 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). The State has been violating its obligations as elaborated in the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights General Comments Nos. 4 and 7 on the right to adequate housing and forced evictions.

In addition to the ICESCR, India has also ratified the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) on 22 September 1994 and acceded to the Optional to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women on 7 January 2005. The Convention on the Rights of the Child, which India ratified on 10 February 1993, specifically requires that States protect the rights of children to adequate housing (Article 27.3). India also has breached articles 1–5 and 6 of the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), which it ratified on 4 January 1969

The violent 5 April police attack on the people of the Narmada Valley and their supporters in New Delhi, as well as the illegal detention of activists as well as the forced arrest of Medha Patkar and Jamsing Nargave, also violate article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibits cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and/or punishment, and article 17 prohibiting the arbitrary use of force.

We urge the Government of India to:

1. Stop the construction of the Sardar Sarovar Dam at the present height.

2. Ensure full land-based rehabilitation according to the provisions of the Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal (NWDT) and the Supreme Court.

3. Direct and empower the Rehabilitation Subgroup of the Narmada Control Authority to ensure that all families affected at the present height receive cultivable land with proper civic amenities. Land must be identified at least one year in advance for families affected at a further height and all utilities must be in place six months prior to submergence.

4. Respect human rights and not resort to use of police force, arbitrary arrests and detentions against the affected people.

5. Release Medha Patkar and Jamsing Nargave immediately, and drop any false charges against them.

6. Ensure that a thorough and comprehensive assessment of all villages affected and to be affected by the Sardar Sarovar dam is undertaken, and the current status of resettlement and rehabilitation is properly reviewed.

7. Respect, protect, promote and fulfil the human right to adequate housing of the affected people, namely its following elements that are recognised in international law and treaties: security of tenure; access to public goods and services; as well as information; participation; compensation, and physical security.

  1. Guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country, in accordance with international human rights standards, especially the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination, and the International Covenant on the Rights of the Child.

Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter.

We look forward to hearing from you about your remedial response.

[Name of Organization and Contact Information]