Deputy Chairman Sir, my subject today is regarding families affected by the Sardar Sarovar project; many of whom are Adivasis. Sir, as of today, many families affected by the project are still residing in the submerged areas spread over 214 sq km. Many schools, dispensaries, dharamshalas, ration shops, temples, mosques and other public amenities, cultural and market centres, shops and panchayats are yet to be shifted from the submerged areas to new sites.

Many families from Madhya Pradesh who were declared affected in the 1980s have been excluded from the backwater-affected category. Most of their properties have already been acquired and transferred in the name of the Narmada project authority. Not only that, a number of affected Adivasi families from Maharashtra are also yet to get any or all of the agricultural lands, house plots allotted with titles and amenities in place of the RR (remediation and redevelopment) sites in their possession and are yet to shift to new sites. Thousands of the Sardar Sarovar Dam-affected families from hamlets in Madhya Pradesh, including fishermen, porters, labourers, shopkeepers and artisans have reportedly not been granted rehabilitation benefits.

It is also ironical that no concrete action has been taken against middlemen and officials who are held responsible for more than 1,500 fake sale deeds and against the massive corruption in other aspects of rehabilitation. Their offences have been recorded by the Justice Jha Commission after a seven year-long enquiry.

Sir, an alarming fact is that a huge amount of water from the Sardar Sarovar Reservoir has been allocated to a Coca-Cola factory and to car industries like Nano and Ford, depriving the people – living in vast municipal areas of Gujarat, particularly in Kutch and Saurashtra – from adequate drinking water,. I demand that a White Paper be published regarding the Sardar Sarovar Project. Thank you, Sir.