Narmada dam villages off records

Piprikada pada (Maharashtra): The very existence of the Sardar Sarovar dam is ironical. It claims to be the lifeline of three states, but it is also affecting the lives of the people of the very states it aims to help.

The construction of the dam has displaced many people living in the area.

These people are supposed to be rehabilitated by the Government, a task which the Government insists is on track.

However, the truth is far from this. Rehabilitation is still an uphill task for the local administration.

Union Water Resources Minister Saifuddin Soz, says "We shall strengthen the Narmada Control Authority and will give any support that the Madhya Pradesh Government needs - logistics etc - will all be provided. And we shall also attend to the gaps in rehabilitation."

However, social activist Medha Patkar begs to differ. "They have shown all thousands of families to be affected at 122 meters as already rehabilited. So who are the people still living in the villages we ask?"

Claims and counter claims. The Narmada rehabilitation work has always been the centre of a raging debate.

But as water levels rise, here is a reality check in the interiors of Maharashtra - at a village called Piprikada pada - where one can actually see just how much rehabilitation work has been actually taken care of.

This village has over 50 tribal families living here but according to Government record, this village does not exist.

Says a village tribal named Shildhar Mithiya, "Our village has not been added to any list or census and this worried us because once water levels swallow us, the Government will say we never existed."

And this worry keeps Shildhar on tenterhooks. With water levels going up by the day, it won't be long before he loses it all - the house he grew up in and the plot he has been cultivating all his life.

"I don't know what I will do. All this will be submerged and then we will have nothing left. The collector and other people have visited us and promised us so many things but nothing has come of it so far," says Shildhar.

And Piprikada pada is not the only village where the people have no record of existence. There are many others.

With most of these villages yet not added onto the list of project affected areas, the villagers are worried about what the future holds for them.

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