November 1st, 2012
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the Mapithel Dam Affected Villagers Organisation and the Committee on the Protection of Natural Resources in Manipur that the villagers of Riha, Thawai, Lamlai Khullen, Chadong along the Thoubal River in Ukhrul district, Manipur are likely to be evicted by force to complete the construction of the Mapithel Dam, which is part of the Thoubal Multipurpose Hydroelectric Project in Manipur.
While the villagers do not want to stand in way of a development project, all that they are demanding is that the compensation and rehabilitation package should be satisfactory and executed through a transparent and accountable process. The villagers also allege that the current process of the Manipur state government has ignored the fact that several other villagers living upstream of the project and those who live immediately after the Mapithel dam are not accounted for compensation and rehabilitation by the state government.
There is also an allegation that the state government, through the office of the District Commissioner (DC), is depending upon a disputed list that includes names of people who have never resided in the villages affected by the project. The villagers suspect that the inclusion of persons and households that in fact does not exist is with an intention for the state government officers to illegally appropriate the compensation money in fictitious names. The DC has declared a prohibitory order under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1974 in the region and a large contingent of state police as well as soldiers from the Indian military are stationed in the region.
It appears that the attempt by the state government is to force its arbitrary writ upon the poor villagers, to suit the prospective illegal benefit of some state government employees with the concurrence of officers and politicians at the state capital, Imphal. The 20 member Expert Review Committee (ERC) constituted earlier by the state government and concurred by the Governor of the state by virtue of an order issued by the Governor on 18 January 2008 in which the Mapithel Dam Affected Villagers Organisation is represented through their Chairperson, is now overlooked by the state government, after it issued a legally non-tenable and subsequent order dated 28 September 2012 constituting a Joint Verification Team that excludes the mandate of the earlier constituted ERC.
The situation now is explosive on the ground and warrants immediate intervention. If the unacceptable verification continues, and the villagers evicted by force, it could lead to loss of life and peace in the locality.
Learn more about and find out what can be done here.
Source: Asian Human Rights Commission
Leave a Reply