question_answer

  The following newspaper report was published on 8th April, 2006. "The government's insensitivity towards Medha Patkar's fast-unto-death and the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) dharna in Delhi is of a piece with the long years of systemic apathy to the larger issue of rehabilitation of local communities, either ousted or facing displacement, due to the ongoing Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP). The callous disregard with which the government treats such peaceful   protest,   conducted   within   the legal-institutional framework of the nation-state and the legitimate demands they raise, sends out rather disturbing signals." What do you think were the reasons for the  protest by the affected people? What reason could the government have for "callous disregard" of the protest?     

Answer:

                  The main reason for the protest was that the local communities were being displaced from where they lived and were also losing their livelihood. They wanted proper relief and rehabilitation (R and R here in after) through a grant for building their new homes, plots in the new location where they were being shifted and jobs or opportunities for setting up their businesses at the new location. The government was very slow in granting these facilities for many reasons. One was that a very large number of people were being displaced. Another reason was that the amount of money required for R and R was too high and had not been budgeted for in the cost analysis for the project. Another reason could be that the officials managing the R and R were too slow in processing this requirement.