Social activist Medha Patkar on Monday claimed that as many as 1,589 fake registries and other irregularities were detected by a commission appointed by the Madhya Pradesh High Court in connection with the rehabilitation of the people displaced by the Sardar Sarovar Dam project. Addressing a press conference with Congress MP Digvijaya Singh at the latter's residence here, Patkar demanded that the report of the Justice Sharavan Shankar Jha commission be discussed in the Legislative Assembly and action taken against the guilty. "Based on the decisions taken by the Supreme Court and the Narmada tribunal, alternative land was to be given to the farmers displaced (by the Sardar Sarovar dam project) in 2005," Patkar said.
She said that for those who didn't get the alternative land an amount of Rs 5.58 lakh was to be provided for the purchase of a 5-acre irrigated land. The Narmada Bachao Andolan had filed a petition in the Madhya Pradesh High court due to "corruption and bungling in the rehabilitation work", she said. The high court had appointed Justice Sharavan Shankar Jha commission to inquire about the alleged bungling in the rehabilitation of the displaced. "In the seven-year tenure, the commission heard 10,000 people and submitted a 900-page report in 2016 listing 1,590 fake registries furnished for the disbursal of the grant, besides other irregularities in the construction work for the rehabilitation," Patkar alleged and demanded action against those responsible for the irregularities. Patkar claimed the fake registries included those in which the land does not exist while in some cases, plots of land were sold multiple times. "One person sold his family land 87 times and in some cases, smaller pieces of land were shown larger in the land registration document," she alleged. Patkar also said that the commission's report named 186 "brokers" who played a role in the fake registries besides several officials. "The Jha Commission mentioned in the report that all this happened due to the nexus between officials and brokers," she said, adding that the allotment of plots was changed repeatedly. Patkar also alleged rampant corruption in the rehabilitation process. She claimed that the commission's report has been pending before the state Assembly since July 2016 and was never discussed. Digvijaya told reporters that he will take up the irregularities mentioned in the report to the court. "Congress will also raise the issue in the state Assembly," he added.
PTI Inputs
