[Assam] MOST URGENT

Wed Mar 29 05:55:26 PST 2006

Dear Sudhir:

I read your appeals to the Prime Minister and the President.

Hats off to your principled stance and the lonely 
battles. You make this long distance observer 
very proud!

Forgive my cynicism, but I expect little or 
nothing to come out of it. If for no other reason 
than the fact that in a supposedly democratic 
society individuals cannot and should not be able 
to hold such powers to dictate actions or 
outcomes, while the institutions of democracy 
that the people have a right to depend on remain 
dysfunctional and thoroughly inconsequential. 
And I am not attempting a feeble 'reverse 
psychology'here  either. But to NOT stand up and 
take a stand for what we believe in would rob us 
of our humanity, that so many in the seats of 
power have so little use for, as has been 
demonstrated over and over again!

But this system of arbitrary actions without 
accountability, while invoking fealty to 
democratic principles must be changed. There is 
no other way out. To that end, good luck and 
godspeed!

Best,

Chandan

At 6:05 PM +0530 3/29/06, Vombatkere wrote:
>             MOST URGENT
>
>Maj Gen S.G.Vombatkere, VSM (Retd) 
>475, 7th Main Road
>
>M.E (Struct), PhD (I.I.T), F.I.E (India), C.Eng 
>    Vijayanagar 1st Stage
>
>E-mail : 
><mailto:sgvombatkere at gmail.com>sgvombatkere at gmail.com                
>                                                
>MYSORE  570 017
>
>Tel : 0821-2515187 
>29 March 2006
>
>
>
>To,
>
>             The President of India
>
>             Rashtrapati Bhavan
>
>             New Delhi
>
>
>
>By E-MAIL
>
>
>
>Respected Rashtrapatiji Shri A.P.J. Abdul Kalam,
>
>
>
>You may not recall, but I had the honour and 
>privilege of meeting you in the Rashtrapati 
>Bhavan library along with Shri Kuldip Nayar, 
>Shri L.C.Jain, Shri Ramaswamy Iyer, Smt. Medha 
>Patkar and Shri Himanshu Thakkar, on 20th April 
>last year, when we discussed the interlinking of 
>rivers project. I thank you for the perspectives 
>that you offered in that connection. Most vivid 
>in my mind is the concern that you showed for 
>our people in Bihar and Assam who are afflicted 
>by annual floods, and that is the reason for my 
>present letter.
>
>
>
>I would like to inform you that there are many 
>more of our people who will be flooded out of 
>hearth and home in the Narmada Valley, and be 
>left to fend for themselves if the height of the 
>Sardar Sarovar dam is raised to 121-m from the 
>present 110-m. As I write, the construction work 
>is proceeding rapidly. Quite naturally, you 
>might ask what the matter is if construction 
>work proceeds rapidly. But here the problem is 
>that the people who are in the submergence zone 
>of the dams 121-m level have not been 
>rehabilitated even though the Supreme Court has 
>mandated that the dam height shall not be raised 
>until their rehabilitation is complete. (As a 
>matter of fact, there are still many hundreds of 
>families in the 110-m submergence zone who have 
>not yet been rehabilitated!). Again, quite 
>naturally, you may ask what is the basis of my 
>stating that rehabilitation has not been 
>completed. In this connection I have but two 
>points to make.
>
>Point One. There are about 250 people, members 
>of some of the thousands of families out there 
>in the submergence zone, who have been 
>peacefully demonstrating for many days before 
>the Ministry of Water Resources and now at 
>Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, for stopping the 
>construction work immediately and not starting 
>again until they are rehabilitated according to 
>the Supreme Courts judgement. If their problem 
>was not genuine they would not have come so far 
>from home to peacefully demonstrate and demand 
>their basic rights and in return be humiliated 
>and beaten by the Police in pre-Independence 
>British style.
>
>Point Two. The rehabilitation data (Action Taken 
>Reports) that are being given to the Supreme 
>Court by the state governments of Maharashtra, 
>Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat are false. The 
>Rehabilitation Sub-group of the Narmada Control 
>Authority which is to monitor rehabilitation on 
>the basis of the Narmada Tribunal Award or the 
>Supreme Courts judgments, has not visited the 
>Narmada Valley since year 2000 (2000). Also, 
>except for once, the Grievance Redressal 
>Authority has not visited the Narmada Valley, 
>while no minister from Government of India has 
>ever seen fit to visit and meet our affected 
>people.
>
>
>
>I am sure you will appreciate how these 
>unfortunate people are trapped in the 
>machinations of a nexus of certain corrupt 
>politicians and officials and the construction 
>industry that provides false information to the 
>Supreme Court, which in turn only acts on 
>information that it receives. This nexus also 
>uses police action to threaten and beat these 
>people in the Narmada Valley. Thus, our people 
>have nowhere to turn to for succour.
>
>
>
>I had taken the opportunity to make a personal 
>4-days visit to the Narmada Valley in late 
>November 2005, travelling by jeep, on foot and 
>in boats to meet our people in the 
>rehabilitation gaothans and also our people 
>who are living in the submergence zone because 
>they have nowhere to go. (I am ATTACHING a small 
>file regarding my visit that I will request you 
>to read. Even though they had been and are still 
>being ill-treated by government, I recall how 
>one young man spoke of the merits of 
>non-violence according to Gandhiji).
>
>
>
>I would like to make a point here. I learn from 
>the newspapers that around 120 districts of 
>India are affected by Naxal or Maoist violence. 
>Do we need to frustrate more people so that they 
>fall into the inviting arms of such violent 
>groups? Involuntary displacement of people 
>creates dissatisfaction at the very least and 
>often militancy, because people who are 
>displaced by mega-projects always are poorer 
>after displacement, having lost their 
>livelihoods. Can we ever imagine that such 
>people will look upon the "State" as benevolent? 
>Especially when they see that they are paying 
>the cost of development of another section of 
>people, their frustration, disappointment and 
>anger only increase. But in the present case, 
>even the rightful due of compensation mandated 
>by the Supreme Court is being systematically 
>denied to them by government officials who stand 
>to gain from the construction of the dam. I can 
>only ask if it is fair that we treat our people 
>so.
>
>
>
>You are known as a peoples President and you 
>have shown your concern for the sufferings of 
>our people when we met in April last. I 
>therefore appeal to you, Sir, to use your 
>considerable influence to relieve the pain and 
>fears of our people of the Narmada Valley and 
>give them justice by:
>
>(1) Directing Government to immediately stop the 
>construction work of raising the dam height to 
>121-m because that is an irrevocable (and 
>illegal) step in view of rehabilitation not 
>being complete according to the Supreme Court's 
>orders, and
>
>(2) Directing strict and immediate action 
>against officials who have been deliberately 
>giving false Action Taken Reports, making 
>inaccurate cadastral and population surveys, 
>illegally offering cash compensation instead of 
>Supreme Court mandated land-for-land, and 
>harassing our poor people by Police force in the 
>Narmada Valley.
>
>
>
>Praying for your immediate action, and with my respectful regards,
>
>
>
>Yours faithfully,
>
>
>
>Maj Gen S.G.Vombatkere (Retd)
>
>ATTACHED: File of 42.5 kB.
>
>
>Attachment converted: Macintosh 
>HD:2005.12.01-NARMADA D#860292.doc (WDBN/«IC») 
>(00860292)
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