Press Statement
The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:
The decision of the Modi Government to go ahead with raising the height of the Narmada dam to 138.7 metres goes against the spirit of the Supreme Court judgment of 2000 which had made any such step conditional on putting into place relief and rehabilitation measures for those who will be affected.
Without giving a hearing to the estimated 2.5 lakh people including substantial numbers of tribals in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra who will be affected, the Modi Government has gone ahead with giving permission. This is both illegal and unethical.
The Water Resources Minister Uma Bharati has claimed that all the reports of the Social Justice Ministry and other related groups have shown that the rehabilitation has been completed. This is far from the ground reality. Let these reports be made public and affected people be given a chance to be heard on the reports.
On the one hand the Prime Minister declares that his Government will work for the poor and on the other he takes steps which will devastate the lives of thousands of poor families.
The CPI(M) opposes the decision. It will be part of the struggle to force the Government to reverse this decision and ensure that proper relief and rehabilitation is ensured for all affected families.