MP government relaunches Ataria dam survey

The Madhya Pradesh government has re-launched survey process of the Ataria dam project of 1972, causing dissatisfaction to the residents of as many as 84 villages of Katni district (300 Km south -east from Bhopal) .

Survey work on the dam, which is proposed to be constructed on Hiran river (Narmada tributary) near Sihora tehsil of the district, has begun once again as Narmada Valley Development Authority (NVDA) is in the process of making a fresh detailed project report (DPR).

After a decision was taken to lower the height of the proposed dam in by four meter from earlier 407 meter, to avoid submergence of huge agriculture land, the NVDA has restarted survey and other related works on the project in districts of Katni and some parts of Jabalpur.

“There is an outbreak, as officials are doing photography and video shooting of our area. We are planning to launch a fresh protest against the dam as it is of no use for us,” Sunil Rai a villager of Silondi who led the protest earlier told Business Standard, “The dam will cover more than thousand hectares of arable land under submergence and will have irrigation capacity for few hectares of land, what is good in this dam? We do not want to lose our highly fertile land.”

Originally conceptualised among 29 major irrigation projects on Narmada and its tributaries in 1972 has now been converted into a feeder project to 250,000-hectare Bargi irrigation project . Last year NVDA decided to lower the dam height in view of protest from locals as three villages and more than thirty five thousand hectares of land were falling under full submergence area. After lowering the dam height to 403 meters the dam will now irrigate only 1986 hectare from earlier proposed 5,900 hectare of land.

“The project has become viable even after lowering its height as engineers have decided to channelise it to nearby Bargi diversion project. This will increase Bargi diversion project irrigation capacity by another 9,000 hectares. A DPR is being prepared and than we will move ahead for other clearances,” a senior official said.

The state government has plans to demand funds for the project from Centre under tribal plan. Riddled with corruption, neglect, and hollow promise the renewed NVDA offer of land for land and cash compensation under newly defined 2008 rehabilitation policy is unlikely to lure villagers.

“We do not want any amount as compensation, we know the process and the manner people are handled at various level in these rehabilitation policy,” Prakash Kori another villager of Dasharman village said, “We know we will never get fertile land at any location.”

Under the new policy the government should offer two hectares of land to each adult member of affected family but in its previous projects like Indira Sagar, Omkareshwar NVDA offered only cash compensation. In 400 Mw Shri Maheshwar hydel power project none has heard of rehabilitation.