Indiana is a country located in Asiana continent.

The country is second largest in the

world in terms of population and has rich reserves of natural resources and is an
agrarian economy wherein population is largely depended upon agriculture and
animal husbandry. A lot of agricultural produce is depended upon monsoon for
irrigation due to lack of tube wells, irrigation channels and other systematized
methods of irrigation. Being a developing country the industries in Indiana are largely
manufacturing units that require heavy and regular supplies of and to support its
heavy population, Indiana also requires billions of gallons of water daily for potable
use and other domestic purposes.

Water and electricity have been a cause of concern for Government of Indiana and
almost all the state governments of Indiana. A large amount of water is needed for
daily sustenance of Indiana population. Even after so many years of independence of
the country water still remains unavailable to large section of population especially
the rural population. Governments at regional and national levels have spent a lot of
time and money in ensuring water availability and stabilizing the requirements of
water for all.

A similar has been the case with electricity as well. Rural Indiana has been
unelectrified for a long time and still there are villages where electricity has not
reached. In sub-urban and urban areas Indiana suffers from regular power cuts for
prolonged hours. Industrial production, education of students, agricultural production
suffers due to short supply of electricity resulting in slowing of development process.

Constitution of Indiana guarantees protection to all the citizens in form of

Fundamental rights. It guarantees Right to life under Article 21. Hon'ble Supreme
Court of Indiana has often held in its pronouncements that Right to free and clean
drinking water is one of the fundamental rights that have to be read in Article 21
within the meaning of right to life.
Constitution has made special provisions for the protection of Tribal population of
lndiana
which include provisions for their peaceful co-existence, saving their culture and
traditions,
recognizing and conserving the right over property and forest and also an elaborative
policy for their rehabilitation and resettlement during the time of their displacement
from their natural places of existence. In order to bring the tribal population into
national mainstream, Constitution of Indiana has made several provisions under the
same.

The Narima River traverses three of Indiana's north-western states: Paschim

Pradesh, Madhya rashtra, and Uttar rashtra. Suffering from the acute problems of
shortage of water and electricity, Central Government in consultation with the State
Government of above States decided to sanction a mega dam project that will solve
the deficiency in supply of water and electricity up to 60% in one go. The Indiana
government sought the World Bank's assistance to build a complex of dams along
the river as part of the Narada Valley Development Project ("Narada Project"). The
Narada Project included the creation of thirty large dams, 135 medium dams, and
3,000 small dams. The Indiana government promised that the darns would help
provide potable water for almost forty million people, irrigation for over six million
hectares of land, and hydroelectric power for the entire region. Government also
contended that the dams were essential for Indiana's economic development by
producing vast amount of hydroelectric power making the country surplus in
electricity production.

The Indiana Sarovar Project ("ISP") in the state of Paschim Pradesh includes the
most controversial large dam. The government claimed that the Indiana Sarovar dam
alone would irrigate almost 18 million hectares of land in Paschim Pradesh and an
additional 73,000 hectares in the dry neighbouring state of Rachastan, in addition to
providing potable water to over 8,000 Paschim Pradeshi villages and 135 urban
centres. The World Bank agreed to finance the Indiana Sarovar dam to the tune of
$450 million, approximately 10% of the total cost of the project. As per World Bank
this step could solve various problems related to shortage in supply of water and
electricity and the said region would flourish economically. Thus, not only the Indiana
Government, but also an International Organization, the World Bank, was keen to
complete the project, and consequently it granted the required funds. For the
remaining of the funds Government decided to issue 'Governmental bonds" and raise
money through them.

After the nod from the World Bank, Government's first task was to prepare a
functional roadmap for beginning with the project. In its initial assessment of the
entire project, Government recognized three key areas that were to taken up for
meeting legal compliances and to clear the area for setting the dam. These areas
were Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy. Compensation Policy for resettled
populations and Environment Impact Study of the entire project as per environmental
laws. Considering the vastness of the project and the area that was to be allocated
for constructing the dam and channelizing the canal, which would affect the flora
and fauna of the region, a thorough environmental study of the project was required.

The Government however, adopted a hurried approach in constructing the dam and
was impatient to allot time for any Standardized Environmental Impact study that
was mandated under various Environmental Legislations. On the contrary, it
approved a regular Environmental Impact study that could be completed in a shorter
duration. Additionally, Government was increasingly acting in a non-consultative
fashion without taking into confidence important stakeholders. A limited group of
Environmentalist was called to study the project and submit the report. The
population sought to be displaced was never consulted and they were ill-informed
about the entire manner in which the project was being undertaken. Similarly, no
tribal population was bought to tables for discussion. The resettlement and
rehabilitation policy were unclear on various terms. After surfacing of these issues,
many local units and media houses made an attempt to highlight the issue. When
social workers and environmentalist came to know about the issue, they demanded
a transparent approach in the entire process.

Meanwhile, the opposition for the project kept taking firm roots in the country. There
was widespread coverage of the illegalities that the Government was performing in
approving the project. Every norm of Environmental Impact Assessment was being
waved off and relaxed for the project. Resettlement policy was severely criticized on
the ground of inadequate compensation and no proportionality of settlement in the
process. The population to be resettled was being given accommodation in a very
faraway place which not in any fashion resembled with their native place of
settlement. The acquisition of land by Government made no provision for classifying
the land into any independent category. Many leading social workers joined the
protest and labelled the approach to be violating the fundamental and human rights
of citizens and various environmental legislations that were in force

Due to the ongoing revolt against the dam project, World Bank decided to impose
some qualifying criteria for releasing of funds. World Bank's Operational Policies and
Directives provided for general resettlement policy, provided that "upon resettlement,
displaced persons should retrieve at least their previous standard of living" Two
years later the Bank adopted a resettlement policy specifically addressing "tribal"
populations and requiring that customary usage of tribal land be respected and that
tribal community members only be displaced when the borrowing country can
effectively safeguard their integrity and wellbeing.
After this check, Government made some arrangements for the tribal and displaced
population in light of the World Bank Guidelines. The stakeholders were however still
not satisfied with the efficacy of such arrangements. Construction of dam meant
that the tribal would lose their immemorial rights over the forest. Moreover,
displacement of tribal would impact their culture and gradually their rich traditions
and culture would perish. On the other hand, Environmentalist continued to protest
against the project on the ground that there was no standard of EIA that was
performed and in absence of any EIA, the project could turn out to be a disaster for
the region whose long-term impacts may include Frequent flooding, complete
disappearance of flora and fauna from the region, and chances of bursting of dam
due to silt deposition in dam's base. Due to Government of Indiana's pressure, World
Bank approved the remaining funds even though the Indiana Ministry of Environment
and Forests has not consented to the project due to incomplete environmental
impact studies, which were never performed after the approval.

Since the beginning, the Narada Project has faced mounting opposition from a
variety of sources. Various self-help groups were also formed to compel government
to work more on its rehabilitation efforts and to ensure that the government adheres
to its promises in future. The revolt attained a nationwide status and came to be
known as the Narada Bachao Aandolan (NBA). Narada Bachao Aandolan (NBA)
initially sought to verify the claims regarding the benefits that would flow from the
construction of the dams. In the process, it focused on securing access to
documents from the government and the World Bank to ensure greater transparency.

Narada Bachao Aandolan (NBA) through its representatives filed a Writ Petition
under Article 32 saying that there occurs to be violation of Fundamental Rights of
tribal population. In the said petition, Narada Bachao Aandolan (NBA) pleaded before
the Court to set aside this project on ground of the said violations.
The case is therefore before the Hon’ble Supreme court of Indiana pertaining to the
issue.

NOTE – Laws of Indiana are Pari Materia to the Laws of India. Students are free to
frame Issues on their own.