In May 2023, tribespeople of villages in scheduled five areas of Nandurbar district in Maharashtra are opposing plans to divert water away from their region.
The gram panchayat of Dara village in Nandurbar, Maharashtra recently received a letter from Lonkheda village requesting them to give land to establish a water pump and water pipelines through their village. Sparking anxiety in the affected villages about water being diverted away from their area to other parts of the state.
These pipelines are expected to be connected to the Dara Dharan Dam to supply water to more areas. The Dara Dharan Dam is located in the northern stretch of Nandurbar district of Maharashtra.
The region is largely populated by Bhil and Pawra communities and has been declared a Schedule five area. All 14 villages are Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) act villages.
Dara and 13 other villages consider themselves as the original beneficiaries of the Dara Dharan project.
According to Rajendra Thackerey, a resident of Dara village, back in the 1970s organised themselves under the Communist Party of India (Marxist) In the 1980s they constituted the Dara Dharan Samiti to demand for the construction of a dam on the Unab Deb river.** **
"In 1984 the Dara Dharan project was approved. However, its construction did not start for 10 years. In 1994 the villagers started massive agitations to initiate the construction of the project. The protestors made elaborate drawings and plans on distribution of water for irrigation from the dam to 14 villages in the area. The Samiti also demanded equal distribution of water to all villagers including landless laborers to ensure equal development of all", Thackeray told LCW.** **
Following the protests, the dam was finally constructed in 1996. However, the canals to carry water to the villages for irrigation were not constructed. The villagers kept on writing to the administration to expedite the process of canal construction. The demand remains unfulfilled till date.
In May 2023, the gram panchayat of a non PESA village, Lonkheda, informed the Virpur gram panchayat (a PESA village) of their plans to construct a pipeline for taking the water from the Dara Dharan to Shahda industrial belt region. The request has been made under the Jal Jeevan Mission. The question that Virpur residents are asking is as to why is water not being requested from the Susrika village, which is around 3 Kilometres away from Lonkheda village.
In PESA villages, projects require prior permission of the gram sabha. Their gram sabhas or village councils have passed a resolution denying the request for water diversion from the Shahda region and submitted it to the collector and tehsildar of Nandurbar District.
On 30th of May 2023 a delegation of Adivasi Ekta Parishad and Jotiba Ambedkar Study Circle met the tehsildar to immediately stop the projects for diverting water to Lonkheda. If this is not done, they said protests across the Shahda taluka will be held.
Nandurbar's district collector has denied knowledge of the request made by Lonkheda village panchayat and he assured that he will speak to all stakeholders before any actions are taken, when the villagers went to meet with him.** **
Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Demand to cancel the project
Refusal to give up land for the project
Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Demand to develop irrigation canal
Region Classification
Rural
Type of Land
Common
Forest
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
Original Project Deadline
Whether the Project has been Delayed
Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users
Agricultural land
Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict
Source/Reference
Total investment involved (in Crores):
₹
Type of investment:
Year of Estimation
Has the Conflict Ended?
No
When did it end?
Why did the conflict end?
Categories of Legislations Involved in the Conflict
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.
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
Yes
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-implementation/violation of PESA
Non-consultation with stakeholders
Legal Status:
Out of Court
Status of Case In Court
Whether any adjudicatory body was approached
No
Name of the adjudicatory body
Name(s) of the Court(s)
Case Number
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:
Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation Ministry of Jalshakti
PSUs Involved in the Conflict:
Did LCW Approach Government Authorities for Comments?
No
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:
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?
Shubham is a housing rights activist based in Mumbai. He has a post graduate from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai in urban policy and governance.
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