From: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu (Rich Winkel)
Subject: India: Narmada Crisis Worsens
Followup-To: alt.activism.d
Originator: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
Organization: PACH
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 06:01:29 GMT

/** env.letters: 8.0 **/
** Topic: NARMADA CRISIS WORSENS **
** Written  7:32 pm  Jan 25, 1993 by peg:earth1 in cdp:env.letters **
                     NARMADA CRISIS WORSENS

PLEASE SEND A SIMILAR LETTER TO THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FROM  YOUR 
COUNTRY  TO THE WORLD BANK AT THE SAME ADDRESS AS THAT GIVEN  FOR 
THE AUSTRALIAN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR BELOW:

John Cosgrove, Australian Executive Director.  
The World Bank, 
1818 H St, NW, Washington DC,
USA

5th January, 1993.

Dear Mr Cosgrove,

     Unfortunately 1993 has not heralded a new era in the events
at Sardar Sarovar. By all reports, the situation in the Narmada
Valley  is  not  only grim but worsening.  Human  rights  abuses, 
arrests  and  lack  of consultation continue  to  create  immense 
tension amidst the criteria of the World Bank 'benchmarks.'

     Only yesterday, 11 people were arrested in Manibeli, includ
ing the village headman. 70 police were reported to have been  in 
the village at the time. The people had gathered to ask questions 
about  the  construction of a road at Manibeli,  which  began  on 
Christmas Day. They have been taken to Taloda jail and their bail 
costs are astronomically high.

     This action is linked to events of last week, where
police  have been assembling in the Kevadia colony eight  kilome
tres  from  the dam site and 14 kilometres from  Manibeli.  Their 
objective  appears  to be to provide protection for a  survey  of 
local forests with an eye to clear-cutting them. The idea here is 
to  open  resettlement land and thus minimize  the  necessity  of 
internationally embarrassing forced evictions. The catch is  that 
cutting  down these forests also amounts to forced  eviction,  in 
that  the  forests  are necessary for the  subsistence  of  local 
tribals.

     On  December  28th, about 250 people from the  Narmada  main 
canal-affected villages, including 28 women, were arrested  after 
the police refused them permission to stage a sit-in in front of
the office of the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Development Cooperation
at Baroda, to press their demand for giving them "project-affect
ed" status.

The Narmada Bachao Andolan had organized the sit-in to be
followed by a rally to press for the demands of the canal-affect
ed  people  to  provide them the benefits  applicable  to  people 
affected by the construction of the Sardar Sarovar Dam.

According to a spokesman of the Andolan, while the police had
earlier turned down the plea for permission to take out the
proposed rally through the main thoroughfares of the city on
grounds of prevailing disturbed conditions, it apparently had
no objections to the villagers staging the sit-in in front of the
corporation  office.  But as villagers started  arriving  at  the 
site,  the police told the Andolan leaders that no protest  could 
be allowed since it could lead to "tension" in the city. Despite
repeated pleas by the Andolan, the police declined to budge
and  pushed the first batch of rallyists out of the  premises  of 
the corporation office.

As the rallyists attempted to re-enter the premises, they were
promptly  put  under  arrest. As more and  more  volunteers  from 
different  villagers  kept arriving at the site, they  were  also 
arrested and taken to the Pratapnagar police station.

Protesters had come from some 40 canal-affected villages
besides the representatives of six original villages whose  lands 
were  acquired  to set up the Kevadia Colony to function  as  the 
head quarters of the dam construction group.

     Due to the worsening situation, we believe that it is
imperative that the Bank announces an independent mission to
evaluate the progress of the benchmarks. We further suggest
that  this  team will either be or include members of  the  Morse 
Team. We would appreciate your response of any action being taken 
by the Bank regarding an independent mission.

     Looking forward for your comments,

                     Yours sincerely,


                           Ms Carol Sherman.
                           Director.

cc: Minister for Trade and Overseas Aid, John Kerin.
(Parliament
House, Canberra.)
     Ken Waller, Treasury, Mr Casson, AIDAB.

** End of text from cdp:env.letters **

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