Discontent over unsatisfactory human rehabilitation under a river development project is keeping Madhya Pradesh’s Bundelkhand region restive. Around 7,000 families from 22 villages spread over the Panna and Chhattarpur districts have protested for 12 continuous days on the banks of the Ken river. Their complaint: compensation for their displacement due to the Ken-Betwa river-link project had not followed due process.
On April 16, the protests were deferred for 10 days after the two district administrations assured people that their demands would be considered.
The agitation had caught national attention as the villagers—many among them from tribal communities such as Gond and Saur—camped round the clock on the Ken riverbank in Daudhan, the site of a dam in the river-link project.
Village say due process for acquiring their lands and paying compensation in return had not been followed and that they were merely asked to shift out. According to sources, some of the displaced families were paid Rs 5 lakh whereas the minimum compensation due was Rs 7.86 lakh.
The other issue villagers raise is that no survey had mapped their homes and properties while deciding the compensation amount. Also, many people in the 7,000-odd displaced families were adults; thus, they arguably qualified as independent families eligible for separate compensation packages.
The foundation stone for the Ken-Betwa river-link project was laid in 2024. Under the two-phase project, surplus water from the Ken river basin is planned for diversion to the water-scarce regions of the Betwa river basin. Besides boosting irrigation and drinking water supply, the project will generate hydropower. The project will benefit both Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, but critics claim the river-linking will submerge vast tracts of human settlements, forests and wildlife zones.
The protests in Panna and Chhattarpur are being coordinated by Amit Bhatnagar, a resident of Bijawar in Chhattarpur district. He is associated with the Jan Kisan Sangathan, a body representing the displaced persons. Bhatnagar alleged that the administration was adopting coercive measures, such as sending house demolition notices to villagers, to pressure them.
The protesters have found support from people uprooted by the Negua, Runjh and Majhgaon irrigation projects of 2022. It is alleged that compensation in these projects has not been fully disbursed.
The administration claims the Ken-Betwa project evictees called off their protests after assurances on carrying out a survey. “The protesters claimed some people were left out of the survey. We have asked for another survey to cover these aspects. The other point they raised pertained to policy decisions at the government’s level. We have apprised the government of the same,” said Parth Jaiswal, collector of Chhatarpur district.
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