BBC Hindi
BBCThousands of Villagers in the Central State of India Madhya Pradesh protested against a multi-million-dollar linking project to rob their homes and living.
Ken-metla project, with a budget 440bn rupees ($ 5.06bn; £ 4.05bn), the overwater Betwa in the neighboring Uthya state in a network of tunnels, ducts and a dam.
This is the first of 16 river joint projects marked under Revelation of India Revelation for the Water Resource in the 1980s. The plan is facing a lot of delays – especially because of environmental concerns and political disputes – before the government is cleared by 2021.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set the foundation of stone for its construction in December last year.
The project should assist drive-prone Bundelkhand region – which includes parts of Madhya Pradesh – where the patterns of rain and unexpected rainfall are caused by the rains of rain of decades of poverty and impulse.
Government says that when it’s up to 2030, it helps 1.06 million acres of land, gives water to drink 6.2 million hydropower and solar strength.
But at least 10 villages, including many swaths of precious land in the forest, melted to the reservoir and 11 other villages passed through 7,000 families, the district officials said.
“Our livelihoods are tied to this land – we do not know what the future is for us,” Tulsi adivasi, which is one of thousands of villagers protesting against the project.
Most of them belong to native goats and kol tribes, living on the edge of the forest and dependent on farming for a living.
Environmental experts warn the project to waste around 98 sq km (38 sq miles of reserve, a 543 sq km of sanctuary from local extinction in 2009.
This can undo the years of care effort. “It didn’t work. We’ve never seen a core area of a National Park used for a large infrastructure project before,” As environmentalist Amit Bhatnagar.
In 2019, a panel of experts conducted by the main court of India’s concerns about the project, questioning the reactivation and effect of wildlife in the region. The government, as it is, should explore alternative irrigation methods on the river.
Independent studies of the Indian river conjunction projects make similar observations.
A 2023 study contamination In the journal Journal Journal says such efforts “can disturb water stress around the country, made these projects ineffective or may not even contradict”.
The Baleshwar Thakur, leading the National Water Development Agency, however, defended the project, saying that the authorities conducted a full research and obtained all environmental clearances for the project.
“We also taught the additional land to overthrow the loss of tiger’s habitats and rehabilitate other species also affected by the project,” he said.
Government official claimed to have a potential “challenge” of biodiversity in the region, but said “The benefits of the project are above adverse effects”.
The securities that don’t do anything to relieve the villagers.
In the heart of Daudan, 48-year-old Mahesh Adivasi sits with a group of men, expressing their opposition to the form of a protest song.
“The Ken-Metla Dam was built by the government, it gave the water to others but we drowned,” They sing, the lyrics have taken their grief.
The village is one of the poorest regions of the region, lacking basic facilities such as clean water and electricity.
The bitter river project does not disappear with people – they ask why they are asked to leave their homes to give power to their own village.
“We see generations who do not develop. Now, we are asked to sacrifice our lives for the development of others. What about us?” Mahesh Adivasi said.
The government offers the villagers in an optional compensation plan, where they can choose a land with 750,000 rupees ($ 8,655; £ 6,842) or a-time charge of 1,250,000 rupees. For those who have own land, an additional value based on the amount of land will also be given.
Mr. Thakur said about 90% of people choose to take the amount of full value. “Meanwhile, the government began to seek for alternative lands of government to resettle villagers,” he added.
But locals say it is not enough to offer. Tulsi Advasi showed BBC not a government announcement that his home was investigated at 46,000 rupees.
“Can a house build with lots of money?” he asked.
Some complain that they have not been announced if they need to evacuate or where they live, the concerns of their future.
“The project should be a blessing for our village but, the fact is, it falls in the dark,” Lakshmi Adivasi said, 20.
Questions are also raised against the claim that the project is meant to channel excess water from the Ken River.
Criticized by critics that the government relies on endless data from 2003, with no independent verification, to calculate the annual harvest of the river.
Mr. Thakur denies the allegation and said authorities “have all the data to proceed to the project”.
Mr. Bhatnagar, Environmentalist, speaks that by preceding the project, the government has set in “risky initials” for the same progress programs that other geologically sensitive programs are being held.
“And for those who are affected, it once further emphasizes how India progresses often cost the most greater,” he added.
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