The Gosikhurd National Irrigation Project, on the Wainganga River in Maharashtra's eastern Vidarbha region, was approved in 1982 and launched by the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1984. The project is still incomplete and there are alleged irregularities in construction of dams, rehabilitation of affected people, environmental clearances, and finances.
About 93 villages will be [affected](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/maharashtra-gosikhurd-irrigation-project-still-50-incomplete-4422573/#:~:text=Almost 50 per cent of,National Irrigation Project remains incomplete.&text=Highly placed sources in the,work remained to be completed.), of which 35 will be completely submerged due to the project. These 93 villages from three districts consists of 16,000 project- affected families--Nagpur 8,312; Chyandrapur 1,542 and Bhandara 6,000. GosiKhurd Prakalpgrast Sangharsh Samiti has been organizing protest marches against the delay in the rehabilitation of the project-affected persons from time to time. As of 2016, the dam's construction cost [escalated](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/maharashtra-gosikhurd-irrigation-project-still-50-incomplete-4422573/#:~:text=Almost 50 per cent of,National Irrigation Project remains incomplete.&text=Highly placed sources in the,work remained to be completed.) from Rs 370 crore to Rs 18,500 crore.
The major source of income for the affected families was agriculture. The government has decided to support them with allied agriculture services like livestock rearing, skill training for youth and goat farming. The major displaced person are facing livelihood issues. Many fisherman communities got affected due to polluted water of the dam. Dam is polluted due to Nagpur cities sewerage that flows through Nag river and Kanhan river and merges with Wainganga river where the dam is situated. The rehabilitation and resettlement issues are still there.
Till today, several displaced people have not been properly rehabilitated. A resident of Salebaldi complained that the locals are not staying here out of choice. The acquisition that began in 1994 continues till 2020, he added while speaking to Bachu Kadu, minister of state water resources who visited the affected villages in September 2020. They also demanded that instead of a fixed amount, the government should compensate us for the loss of income as floods ravaged their crops after water from the dam was released.
Earlier this year, the completion of dam was further extended to 2023.
In 2024, the residents of Awarmara village boycotted the general and state Assembly elections due to pending rehabilitation of their submerged lands.
Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Demand for rehabilitation
Demand for more compensation than promised
Complaint against procedural violations
Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Region Classification
Urban and Rural
Type of Land
Common and Private
Forest and Non-Forest, Non-Forest (Grazing Land), Non-Forest (Other than Grazing Land)
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Details of sources (names of accused, names and numbers of any lawyers, names of any police officers contacted)
Status of Project
Project underway despite protests
Original Project Deadline
2023
Whether the Project has been Delayed
No
Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users
Other Natural Resource extraction/dependence
Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict
Source/Reference
Total investment involved (in Crores):
₹
18500
Type of investment:
Cost of Project
Year of Estimation
1982
Has the Conflict Ended?
When did it end?
Why did the conflict end?
Categories of Legislations Involved in the Conflict
Land Acquisition Laws
Legislations/Policies Involved
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Whether claims/objections were made as per procedure in the relevant statute
What was the claim(s)/objection(s) raised by the community?
What was the Decision of the Concerned Government Department?
Legal Processes and Loopholes Enabling the Conflict:
Non-rehabilitation of displaced people
Controversial land acquisition by the government
Legal Status:
In Court
Status of Case In Court
Pending
Whether any adjudicatory body was approached
Name of the adjudicatory body
Name(s) of the Court(s)
High Court of Bombay, Nagpur Bench
Case Number
PIL No. 12/2016; WP no. 6884/2015
Main Reasoning/Decision of court
Major Human Rights Violations Related to the Conflict:
Whether criminal law was used against protestors:
Reported Details of the Violation:
Date of Violation
Location of Violation
Government Departments Involved in the Conflict:
Revenue Department, Irrigation Department, Forest Department
PSUs Involved in the Conflict:
Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation
Did LCW Approach Government Authorities for Comments?
Name, Designation and Comment of the Government Authorities Approached
Corporate Parties Involved in the Conflict:
Did LCW Approach Corporate Parties for Comments?
Communities/Local Organisations in the Conflict:
Project affected families, Gosikhurd Prakalpagrast Sangharsh Samiti, Vidarbha Kashtakari Sanghatan
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?
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