Gandhinagar/Bhopal: After Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Madhya Pradesh, the MP government has issued a 627-page gazette notification, publishing a list of more than 18,000 people to be evicted from the submergence area in the Narmada valley before July 31, to enable the closing of the Sardar Sarovar Dam gates.
Four days ago, MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan had announced an additional Rs 610 crore as compensation for 1,750 families.
This February, the Supreme Court had set a deadline of July 31 for disbursement of compensation to all project-affected families (PAFs) of the SSP. Chouhan said every affected person would be compensated.
The MP government machinery has been working overtime in the four districts of Dhar, Alirajpur, Badwani and Khargone after the PM’s visit, where more than 40,000 hectares of land including 13,385 hectares of forest will be submerged once the dam gates are closed after July 31, subject to completing of R&R work.
With the submergence of fertile land and forests , the state will not gain anything, said a senior MP bureaucrat involved in the rehabilitation of PAFs for two decades, but the issue is of immense importance for Gujarat where elections are due later this year and PM Narendra Modi is taking personal interest in the completion of the project, he said.
CM Chouhan sprang a surprise by announcing the Rs 610 crore allocation for 1,750 PAFs at a meeting at the CM’s bungalow last week. He made the announcement while addressing people from the valley led by Ranjana Baghel, the MLA from Manawar in Dhar district. These PAFs were not covered by the Supreme Court order.
Meanwhile, the joint director (rehabilitation) of NVDA, A K Khare said, “Of the 681 people identified by the apex court for payment of Rs 60 lakh to each, 604 have already been paid the amount. Similarly, of 900 affected people entitled to Rs 15 lakh each, 764 have been compensated.”
Nitin Patel, deputy chief minister Gujarat said, “I welcome the initiative taken by Shivrajji. The PM is also taking keen interest in the completion of work. According to the SC order, we have paid all the money required for the resettlement work. The new announcement made by the MP CM concerns the MP government only.”
