NARMADA BACHAO ANDOLAN

Group 5: Roll No. 46 to 56

INTRODUCTION

1961: Inauguration of Narmada Valley development project 1978: Government seeks World Banks assistance Creation of 30 dams, 135 medium dams and 3000 small dams providing water to almost 40 million people over 6 million hectares of land and hydroelectric power for the region Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP):

Irrigate 1.8 million hectares of land in Gujarat and 73,000 hectares of land in Rajasthan + provision of water to 8,000 villages and 135 urban centers

Costs:

-Displacement of ten of thousands of individuals and considerable environmental

damage -Submerge 37,000 hectares of land in the three states

1985: World Bank agrees to finance SSP

THE RESPONSE.

Local opponents, environmental activists, and professionals from the academic, scientific, and cultural worlds formed an NGO

Late 1980s: Formation of Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA)

1991: Creation of a Bank commission to independently review the project

Reviews conclusion: Unless a project can be carried out in accordance with existing norms of human rightsnorms espoused and endorsed by the Bank and

many borrower countriesthe project ought not to proceed

1993: Creation of the World Bank Inspection Panel

NARMADA TRIBUNAL NARMADA WATER DISPUTES TRIBUNAL

Formed : On 6 Oct 1969 As per Indias Interstate Water Disputes Act of 1956 Under Chairman Justice V. Ramaswami To Resolve: Water Sharing dispute. Rehab & Resettlement for those affected by Dams Indigenous people (Adivasis) Contains Mandated Clauses such as: Land for Land (e.g. Gujrat. 5 acres of irrigable land.)

NARMADA TRIBUNAL (CONTD.) NARMADA WATER DISPUTES TRIBUNAL

Shortcomings: Compensation to Legal Land Owners only. Focused on Interstate disputes not on Affected Communities Political deals limits alternatives to achieve Objectives. Lacked appeal process by Ordinary court Not enough land available for Redistribution. Settlers return to homes already submerged!

World Banks Involvement in the Project

World Bank Stepped in after Narmada Tribunals final order. Bank Staffers worked in close coordination with Indian Officials to reconfigure the criticalities of project. Ist stage Project Preparation 1973-1985 Bank Ignored shortcomings in the approval process Transnationalization by Bank at multiple level
Indicated International approvals by including foreign actors.

Internationalized resistance to project

Banks international policy provided standard to judge the project performance

CONFLICT BETWEEN WORLD BANKS POLICY & ITS SUPPORT OF DAM

Policies developed in respect to establishing environmental & human rights guidelines. Requisites for Banks policies on involuntary settlement:

Finalize resettlement plans prior to the loans approval Credit agreements with the Indian states required resettlement plans that conform to these policies

No plans produced even after 6 years of loan approval; No deadlines enforced by World Bank Ecological consequences of the Sardar Sarovar Project were not addressed.

1980 General Resettlement Policy 1982 Resettlememt policy adressing tribal community members 1990 Involuntary settlement 1991 Resettlement of indigenous population

NARMADA BACHAO ANDOLAN (NBA) BEGINS

A social movement protesting against the

implementation of the Sardar Sarovar Project(SSP)

Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Vahini - youth protest group in Gujarat

Narmada Ghati Navnirman Samiti and Dharangrastha Samiti merged to form NBA in 1989

Focussed on transparency and accountability Government has ignored the stakeholders while making their decision

NBAS METHODS AND LEADERSHIP

Innovative strategies of resistance that operated simultaneously at the grassroots, national, and international level Originally employed Gandhian methods and later announced a noncooperation movement Leadership of environmental champions like Medha Patkar Visionary leader NBAs struggle against the Maheshwar Dam in MPNarmada Shakti Dal Social activist Baba Amte provided moral leadership - Cry O Beloved Narmada in 1989

DIRECT ACTIONS

Sept 1989 May 1990 Jan 1991

Anti Dam NBA Rally by Baba Amte At Harshud, involving 60,000 people Massive NBA 5 day Dharna Forced PM to reconsider the project Dharna unto death, by Amte & Patkar NBA called off after 21days Readiness for Jal Samarpan in Manibeli Forced the govt. to review the project

Mid 1992

INTERNATIONAL INTERVENTIONS AND COALITION BUILDING

Multi-pronged strategy - Lori Udall, Environmental Defence Fund Megha Patkar met with World Bank Narmada International Action Committeelobbied in several investing countries International NGO Friends of the Earth (Japanese branch) field visit withdrawal of Japans Fund June 1992 report by Human Rights Watch (at the time of The Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro) The Environmental Defence Fund and the Bank Information Centre(both U.S.-based NGOs) led the formation of the Narmada International Human Rights Panel Support of forty-two environmental and human rights NGOs representing sixteen countries.

THE WORLD BANK WITHDRAWS

Morse Commission to re-examine the Project June91

to assess steps taken to resettle those who are affected

to assess the measures aimed at diminishing the projects environmental

impact

Difficult situation for World Bank

Donor countries were unhappy with the developing image of the Bank as a
human rights violator

6 months to comply with certain environmental and rehabilitative benchmarks. The government of India announced cancelling the remaining $170 million Bank loan - what many regarded as an admission that the government could not meet the new benchmark

BROADER IMPACT OF NBA ON WORLD BANK

Forced WB to acknowledge Indian Govt.s disregard for consequences. NBA An example before the world

Social and Environmental impact of Bank projects Increasing awareness among middle class and rural people

An important landmark in struggle for accountability

Independent commission to review bank funded projects Quasi-Independent panel to hear complaints about violations

Banks procedures opened for public, guidelines rewritten and current projects re-examined. Environmental concerns Into mainstream NGOs -Partners in development

THE WORLD BANK INSPECTION PANEL

Setup in September 1993 acting as a grievances redressal committee. To address the mismanagement and poor governance, which galvanised World banks accountability failures. Bank did not impose 78% of its negotiated loan conditions and one-third of the banks projects were unsatisfactory. NGOs and member countries who were sizeable lenders to bank raised criticisms. Willi Wapenhans critiqued banks sweeping culture of approval.

THE WORLD BANK INSPECTION PANEL

Lack of independent oversight. Panels mandate was limited to examination of the Banks compliance with its operational guidelines. Less focus on the human right concerns. Narrow focus on procedural issues. 11 out of the 28 claims resulted in the positive which includes:

Compensation for claimants Release of project information Improvement in resettlement packages for affected people. Project suspension, cancellation or redesign Cessation of evictions.

NBA DEVELOPMENTS POSTBANK WITHDRAWAL

Developments After Banks Withdrawal

Withdrawal greatly reduced the international dimension of the Narmada struggle.

NBA decided to pursue an additional avenue for change

appeal to the Supreme Court of India.

Governments continued construction raised the stakes of the

struggle for both sides - more and more villages faced

submergence, and the governments commitment to the Narmada Project deepened as the project progressed

THE NBA AND THE SUPREME COURT

NBA approached Supreme Court in 1994 The NBAs lawyers began to push three novel legal arguments: Project was an unconstitutional taking It violated the equal protection clause of the Indian Constitution Government had infringed on their right to reside and settle in any part of India.

In 1995 Supreme Court ordered a stay on further construction but the courts orders were disregarded until the NBA march on Delhi in late 1995
In 1999, Indian Supreme Court authorized construction to increase height of Dam to 85 meters Since, 2000 the construction happened uninterrupted under the surveillance of GRA ( Grievance Redressal Authorities) in each of the party states

THE PROJECT COMPLETION - ITS MERITS

Project got completed on December 31,2006 It is one of the largest water resources project of India

Irrigation - 1.905 million Ha (1.8 million Ha. in

Gujarat benefitting 1 million farmers)

Drinking Water - 9633 villages and 131 towns (29 million people)

THE PROJECT AND ITS DEMERITS

Unofficial estimate of around 320,000 people got displaced

Their livelihood got deprived

Estimated Cost - Rs. 392.4 billion (8 billion USD)

Thousands of acres of forest land destroyed Acute water crisis in Saurashtra, Kutch and North Gujarat even now

CONCLUSION
NBA became symbolic of a global struggle for environmental and social justice, and a hope for peoples movements all over the world that are fighting for just, equitable, and participatory development. - NBA Partner