Public pressure
the Andhra Pradesh (ap) government has decided to modify its eight-month old resettlement and rehabilitation (r & r) package with regard to the Polavaram dam project across the Godavari river. The ap government finally bowed to pressure from the families affected by the project in the tribal areas of Khammam, east and west Godavari districts.
As per the changes, only displaced families will be given fishing rights in the Polavaram reservoir. The cultural identity of each tribal group will also be protected. A separate r & r survey for each affected village will be carried out and certain peripheral lands of reserved forests shall be de-reserved for tribal livelihood.
Stiff protests forced the government to finally hold negotiations on the issue of displacement. The concerned minister is slated to soon confer with Medha Patkar, who threatened to launch a stir against the whole project.
The ap government claims this r & r policy is the best in the country and has been buoyed by a pat on its back from the Union ministry of environment and forests. Irrigation minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah told Down To Earth, "These changes are nothing but fine tuning our policy.' A two-day exercise by top officials held in November 2005, recommended a host of changes to the "progressive' r & r policy. Chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy gave his nod to most of the recommendations. An official announcement is expected soon.
Local non-governmental organisations (ngo) are cautious about these changes. "The changes are good, but their implementation is doubtful. The government should ensure that middlemen do not exploit the na
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