|
A delegation comprising of Medha Patkar, senior political leader N. D. Patil, film personality Sadashiv Amrapurkar, Pratibha Shinde, village representatives like Noorji Padavi, Pinjaribai Pawara, Rania Dia & others, and representatives from Somawal and Amlibari rehabilitation sites met the Home Minister R. R. Patil and Rehabilitation Secretary K. S. Vatsa yesterday (July 12). The Minister expressed disgust on not implementing the cabinet decisions till now. The Minister ordered to resolve the dispute on the records of declared and undeclared oustees within the next one and a half months. The Divisional Commissioner would settle the dispute. NBA is permitted to check the records at the Tahsil level. The Minister asked explanation to the R&R Secretary for not buying the private land for rehabilitation.
A joint meeting of the Overview Committee and the Planning Committee is called on the Thursday (July 15th), under the chairmanship of the state Minister, Vilasrao Patil. The people expressed their anger in repeatedly showering promises and not meeting it. They said the High Power Committee for expediting the purchase of private land for rehabilitation is actually delaying the matter. “It is a sad irony that while hundreds are dying in Nandurbar District due to malnutrition and the government is spending thousands of crores of rupees to curb it, people are displaced from their rich natural resource base with no alternative means of livelihood”, senior village representative Noorji Padvi told the Minister. The Gandhi statue, near the State Secretariat at Mumbai had a different set of visitors yesterday. Early in the morning, some 100 representatives of villages Narmada valley, affected by Sardar Sarovar dam reached the statue. People started an indefinite Satyagraha there amidst the songs and slogans filling the air. The people were forced to come to the streets of Mumbai again due to the apathetic and callous attitude of government towards them. The over 1500 families in Maharashtra, losing their houses and fields in the rising waters of Sardar Sarovar this monsoon have not received any rehabilitation till date. This is inspite of tall promises made by the government over the past many months. The people on Satyagraha demands implementation of the decisions taken by the state cabinet during the January 2004; making the record of oustees correct; to provide health services to the people left in the villages and functional Public Distribution System in the villages, among others. Supporters from many parts of the country, especially Maharashtra supported the ongoing Satyagraha. People from Tamilnadu, dam-affected from Pawana Dam, representatives from Eklavya - Raigad, Masum – Pune, and various organisations from Mumbai extended their support. The people are forced to continue the Satyagraha till the demands are met. Yogini KhanolkarChetan |
