LETTERS

Narmada Valley projects

Congratulations for the remarkable Cover Essay ("The Greater Common Good", June 4). Rarely has an issue of such interest and significance received due prominence in the recent history of the Indian media. It is even more rare that the politics behind an important development issue is written about with such power and effect and without an iota of exaggeration or inaccuracy. Salutes to Arundhati Roy for choosing to stand up to be counted.

For far too long, under the guise of technical and expert knowledge, society has ignored fundamental questions such as what is development, development for whom, at what cost and at whose cost. There is no doubt that large dams have contributed to a cert ain amount of development. But never - not for one out of the over 3,300 dams built in independent India - have governments raised questions about their benefits and costs and about who has reaped the benefits and who has paid the price. Having been invo lved in these issues for over a decade, one wishes that these developmental issues are brought out from the hold of experts, bureaucrats, politicians and academics and turned into issues of public interest, as they truly are.

These developmental issues are crucial for the very survival of democratic governance. We pride ourselves in being the largest functioning democracy in the world. But democracy does not exist for hundreds of millions of people. If 50 million people (and that is a very conservative estimate and the Government, for its part, does not have the figures) can be displaced in the name of development without just or humane treatment, what democracy are we talking about? Politicians are not bothered about these issues, bureaucrats are not interested, the media for most part are least interested. The market, the god of the last few decades of this millennium, would wish that such problems do not exist. Parliament has no interest in such issues. Aid agencies suc h as the World Bank, the biggest financier of large dams, is happy that they have very good principles of resettlement; they do not care whether the principles implied policies, provisions or mechanisms to ensure their implementation. If the latest deve lopments on the Sardar Sarovar Project are any indication, the judiciary too is not ready to give the most marginalised sections of society their due. Where is the place for the poor and the marginalised in our democracy?

Are large dams effective even in achieving the ends they set out to achieve? Let us take just one aspect of the argument - the most vocal part. An impression is sought to be created that food self-sufficiency (very different from food security for the po orest people, which is far from being achieved) of the nation is due to the large dams. We did a simple calculation to find out how much of the food production in post-Independence India is due to large, canal-based irrigation projects. The answer was su rprising - less than 12 per cent of the additional food production in post-Independence India. And what enormous costs society has paid for this marginal gain! All indications are that had India taken the alternative path of harvesting rain, the gains w ould have been much larger, much less painful and much more equitable and sustainable. But thanks to the self-seeking people in government and the ever-helpful aid agencies such as the World Bank, that path was never taken.

After spending 50 years and over Rs.100,000 crores in water resources development, if the number of people who are without safe drinking water and basic necessities is bigger than before, if more villages are without an adequate source of water, more peo ple are malnourished, if more areas are flood-prone and if damage due to floods is rising with each passing year, what development, what democracy are we talking about? Are huge projects such as the Sardar Sarovar compatible with democratic functioning? The answer, if we dare to answer honestly, is a big no.

I hope that this critique of the Narmada Valley projects by Arundhati Roy will lead to a genuine debate on these issues.

Himanshu Thakkar
Baroda

It is a delight to see a newsmagazine like yours publishing something on big dams on the cover.

Arundhati Roy's article communicates the horrors of such development that plague this country and cause trouble to its people. We have become experts at displacing millions of people, besides destroying tens of thousands of hectares of forest land and th en putting up concrete giants that provide nothing for people other than those who milk the country dry. We are tired of hearing about "electricity" and the "irrigation" needs of this country. Our businessmen and political leadership are damaging the fut ure of the nation with projects like Sardar Sarovar. The people of this country must act and stop this project. Let us set a precedent; let us end the massive trauma of a river, a people and the entire ecological system around. It is truly a moment for e veryone to join hands with the Narmada Bachao Andolan and end the horrors of this project.

Valmik Thapar
New Delhi

I read Arundhati Roy's expose of the farce that is development, several times, with tears in my eyes. They were tears of rage, anger. The most powerful weapon of mass destruction - as Arundhati so poignantly points out - after big dams and nuclear weapo ns is the development model and the powers that be who are pushing it down the people's throat. We need more of such exposes; we need to remove the holiness ascribed to development and progress which are achieved at the cost of 50 million lives.

It may be that the Iron Triangle will not read Roy's article or, having read it, will tend to dismiss it as emotional propaganda funded by foreign hands. But to all those who have been protesting against the destruction that is passed on as progress and development, it will serve as a major morale booster. Protest - that is all that we can do.

The author could consider publishing it as a separate booklet, which could be translated into Indian languages and circulated widely.

Amit Mitra
New Delhi

Each and every word of the Cover Essay was heart-breaking. Thank you for publishing the essay.

Karimbam K.P. Rajeevan
Thaliparamba, Kerala

Arundhati Roy's essay is a brilliant piece of writing focussing on the huge human costs of and the tremendous destruction of the environment caused by big dams. Despite having knowledge of these costs and the human misery, our planners are bent upon exec uting these big dams, aided by funding agencies such as the World Bank which turn a blind eye to the woes of the affected people and the submergence of forests. It is heartrending that people are uprooted from their homes of generations, to be turned int o refugees in their own land. The rehabilitation package is too small and comes too late.

A point that must be noted by the anti-big dam activist is that some of the projects are in an advanced stage and hence it is not practical to roll these back. The best that can be done is to speed up the rehabilitation of the displaced persons by involv ing the villagers and the tribal people concerned along with the activists fighting for justice. It should be possible to find land and forests nearer to their erstwhile homes so that they do not feel so totally lost in an alien environment, as happened when those who were displaced from Madhya Pradesh were asked to settle in Gujarat. A compromise must be reached on the height of any dam so that submergence is the minimum, with minimum damage caused to forests and hills.

The time has come to plan new dams with greater care than is being done at present. While it may not be possible to avoid big dams totally, the environment and the people concerned should be the priority before projecting a return on investment (ROI) in terms of water, irrigation and power potential. Small is beautiful, with minimum damage to the environment and the least displacement of people, and better than building big dams which cause enormous problems, are very expensive and have doubtful ROI. En vironmental activists must be proactive in suggesting alternatives, instead of adopting a laissez faire approach until projects are finalised and work has started and then beginning their agitations.

And lastly, the Minister for Environment at the Centre and in the States must be a full-fledged Cabinet Minister whose voice is respected. The Minister must put his or her foot down on projects which harm the environment and hurt people living at and nea r the sites of the projects. The Minister must be more concerned with the human and environmental costs of dams than the benefits in terms of water, agriculture and power since he or she would be working solely to protect the interests of the people and the environment.

D.B.N. Murthy
Bangalore

In the country, electoral politics is one way of channelling one's anger. Several groups in our society have grown in power over the last 50 years from positions of near-powerlessness. It was not mentioned - and it is not clear - whether this very powerf ul means of redressing one's grievances is being used by the affected people of the Sardar Sarovar and other dams. Had the details of why the Supreme Court removed the stay on the construction been given, they would have thrown more light on the legal as pects of the issue.

With warm regards, and in expression of support to the NBA.

Dr. Samir Kelekar
Bangalore

Your Cover Essay has given me new hope. If Arundhati Roy has the confidence to write on the complex issue of big dams and Frontline decides to print it, then I tell myself that maybe I can be the star performer of the Bolshoi Ballet Company even t hough I am 92 years of age. Thank you for making me believe that anything is possible.

P. Namboodiri
Mumbai

Arundhati Roy has once again chosen to be the darling of ignorant "activists". Her article reminds me of a poster in our laboratory, a message to animal-right activist: "Animal experiments have increased life expectancy by 20 years, it is up to you to de cide how to spend it." Her stance on the nuclear tests in Pokhran last year and the current article only expose her Green leanings.

Sure, the Government deserves the blame for its callous attitude in dealing with "displaced" people. And certainly babudom does not make life easier for the tribal people. But that cannot stand in the way of developmental activities. What else would Arun dhati Roy suggest as a solution to the bitter energy and water crisis in the country? Certainly she would not want India to be a land of tribal people for ever, would she? Small is beautiful only on paper. Only big and bold ideas have liberated this worl d from dark ages. Individual freedom has to be sacrificed in the national interest. It is a pity that activists lack a macroscopic perspective. And seldom do they come up with a viable alternative.

Anand Parthasarathi
Michigan, U.S.

You seem to have lost all sense of news perspective. While I appreciate you writing about big dams, I can neither condone the choice of author nor the length of the essay. It was an exercise in vanity and I am sorry to see my favourite news magazine fall a prey to it.

Anamika Lal
Mumbai

The killing of an activist

After the spate of killings and counter-killings by various militant groups and the armed forces, the people of Assam were shocked to receive the news of the killing of the popular painter, sculptor and Communist Party of India (Marxist) activist, Pramod Talukdar, at Tamulpur in Nalbari district. On May 5, miscreants killed the artist apparently to stop his struggle for the betterment of the downtrodden, which he pursued through the medium of art.

On the night of May 5, unknown persons dragged him out of his house around 10.30 p.m. and attacked him with knives. The police failed to trace the person whom they suspect to be involved in the murder although he was reportedly hiding in a village hardly one kilometre from the police station soon after the incident.

A teacher by profession, Talukdar became famous as a painter in his 20s. He later taught himself sculpting. His work always carried some message to the people in simple and clear terms. He denounced thoughtless violence and fought for peace and amity amo ng the various communities of Assam through the medium of art.

Pramod Talukdar worked and created some images and landscapes in the Rural Gallery and Tribal Gallery of the Assam State Museum in Guwahati. He was also involved in work of the same nature in Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra, a cultural centre established in Guwahati under the Assam Accord and inaugurated by the President recently. He designed and built the main gate for the venue of the Assam Sahitya Sabha Conference held at Goreswar; the conference is the biggest annual of litterateurs in Assam and attr acts thousands of people from all walks of life. He also designed and built the main gate of the venue of the All Bodo Sahitya Sabha Conference held at Tamulpur.

Kandarpa Kalita
Guwahati