Why do people protest against the ambitious water project of India?

Thousands of Aldeanos in the central state of Madhya Pradesh protest against a multi -million dollar river reticulation project that, they say, will steal their homes and livelihoods.

The Ken-Betwa project, with a budget of 440 billion rupees ($ 5.06 billion; Network of tunnels, channels and canals and canals and channels and a dam.

It is the first of the 16 river settlement projects for the National Person of India for the development of water resources in the 1980s. The plan faced multiple delays, mainly due to environmental concerns and political disputes, before The Government will clarify it in 2021.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi put the stone of the base for its construction in December last year.

The project is supposed to help the Bundelkhand region prone to drought, which includes parts of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, where the arid climate and unpredictable rainy patterns have led to decades of poverty and underdevelopment.

The government says that once completed in 2030, it will help water 1.06 million hectares of land, will provide drinking water to 6.2 million people and generate 130MW of hydroelectric energy and solar energy.

But at least 10 villages, including large stripes of precious forest lands, will submerge to build the dam deposit and 11 more villages will move to build the channel, affecting more than 7,000 families, district officials say.

“Our livelihoods are linked to this land: we no longer know what the future holds,” said Tulsi Adivasi, who is among the thousands of villagers who protest the project.

Most of them belong to the indigenous tribes Gond and Kol, who live along the edge of forests and depend on agriculture to make a living.

Environmental experts warn that the project will submerge almost 98 square kilometers (38 square miles) of the Panna Tiger reserve, a sanctuary of 543 square kilometers that successfully brought to the tigers of local extinction in 2009.

This could undo years of conservation efforts. “It has no precedents. We have never seen a central area of ​​a national park that is used for such a large -scale infrastructure project before,” says environmentalist Amit Bhatnagar.

In 2019, a panel of experts constituted by the Superior Court of India had also raised concerns about the project, questioning its economic viability and impact on wildlife in the region. The government, he said, should explore alternative irrigation methods in the river basin.

Independent studies on reticulation projects in India have made similar observations.

A 2023 study published In the Nature Communications Journal states that such efforts “can make water stress worse throughout the country, which makes these projects ineffective or possibly even counterproductive.”

However, Baleshwar Thakur, who directs the National Water Development Agency, defended the project, saying that the authorities had carried out thorough investigation and acquired all environmental authorizations for the project.

“We have also designated additional lands to compensate for the loss of tigers habitats and rehabilitate other species affected by the project,” he said.

The government official admitted that there would be a possible “challenge” to the biodiversity of the region, but said that “the benefits of the project exceed adverse impacts.”

The guarantees have done little to comfort the villagers.

In the heart of Daudhan, Mahesh Adivasi, 48, sat with a group of men, who expressed their dissent in the form of a protest song.

“The Ken-Betwa dam is built by the government, gives water to others but drown us,” they sing, the letters that capture their anguish.

The people are one of the poorest areas in the region, which lacks basic facilities, such as drinking water and electricity.

The bitter irony of the river project is not lost in its people: they ask why they are asked to leave their homes to provide electricity in 13 other districts when their own village has never had power.

“We have seen generations to go without progress. Now, we are asked to sacrifice our lives for the progress of others. What about us?” Mahesh Adivasi said.

The Government has offered the villagers an optional compensation plan, where they can opt for land together with 750,000 rupees ($ 8,655; £ 6,842) or a single payment of 1,250,000 rupees. For those who have land, an additional amount will also be given based on the value of the Earth.

Thakur said around 90% of people had chosen to take the amount of the global sum. “Meanwhile, the Government has begun to seek alternative government of the government to reassure the villagers,” he added.

But the locals say that the amount offered is insufficient. Tulsi Adivasi showed Hindi BBC a government notice that evaluated his home with 46,000 rupees.

“Can you build a house with so much money?” asked.

Others complain that they have not been informed when they must evacuate or where they would resettle, feeding anxieties about their future.

“The project should have been a blessing to our people, but, the truth is that it will make us more in the dark,” said Lakshmi Adivasi, 20.

Questions have also been raised against the statement that the project is destined to channel the excess water of the Ken River.

Critics point out that the Government has been based on obsolete data of 2003, without independent verification, to calculate the annual river performance.

Thakur denied the accusation and said the authorities “have all the data to continue with the project.”

Mr. Bhatnagar, the environmentalist, said that as the project followed, the government was establishing “a dangerous precedent” for similar development programs that will be carried out in other geologically sensitive areas.

“And for those affected, once again emphasizes how India development often has a coast of the most marginalized,” he added.

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