Turbulent times
1955: Project survey conducted
1960: Infrastructure work begins
1973: Bihar government prepares detailed project report
1975: Land acquisition starts, so do Jan Sangharsh Samiti protests
1976: Koel Karo Jan Sangathan (KKJS) is formed under the leadership of Moses Gudia, a schoolteacher
1977-78: KKJS initiates kam roko andolan and constructs barricades in the villages. Work is stalled
1980: State government gives the green light to the project. Agreement reached between all parties, including KKJS, for a socio-economic survey of the affected villages
1981: Project gets cabinet nod. NHPC field office set up in Torpa. Bihar constitutes directorate for land acquisition and rehabilitation
1982: Environmental clearance given
1984: Supreme Court (SC) stops land acquisition process. Government deploys security personnel near project site, but has to remove them in the face of severe protests
1985: Government agrees to KKJS proposal on model villages, but fails to deliver
1986: Bihar government submits rehabilitation and relocation plan before SC
1989: SC orders employment for a member of every displaced household and implementation of rehabilitation plan
1990: Forest cleared for project
1995: Bihar government's announcement that P V Narasimha Rao would inaugurate project on July 5 sparks massive protests. Rao cancels plan
1998: Environmental clearance is revoked in September, but given back in December with conditions of revision of rehabilitation and relocation plan as well as submission of a catchment area treatment plan
2000: Catchment area treatment plan accepted
2001: In January, state government and Union ministry of environment and forests agree on revised relocation and rehabilitation scheme. In February, eight persons die in Tapkara police firing. In March, Union government okays revised rehabilitation and relocation plan
2002: In February, KKJS boycotts meeting called by Jharkhand power minister. In May, National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) says the project has been struck off the programme implementation department's list. The department on the other hand, says the project has only been frozen.
Related Content
- Coal market update – July 2023
- Zimbabwe economic update: overcoming economic challenges, natural disasters, and the pandemic- social and economic impacts
- Influencing to tackle poverty and injustice: learning from the past, looking to the future
- Climate change set to make take-offs more turbulent, UN warns
- Transatlantic flight times and climate change
- AirAsia disaster: Climate change links to turbulence may throw light, say experts