Amnesty International is gravely concerned by reports of excessive use
of force by police officials during a peaceful demonstration on 17
December 2005 in Badwani, Madhya Pradesh state, central India, and calls
on the Madhya Pradesh government to immediately set up an independent
inquiry into this incident.
Hundreds of people from Madhya Pradesh and the neighbouring state of
Gujarat were demonstrating in relation to the ongoing Sardar Sarovar dam
project across Narmada river. The demonstrators were concerned that
their right to compensation in the form of land following their recent
displacement was not going to be upheld. According to orders by the
Supreme Court in October 2000 and March 2005, the displaced farmers
should be provided with cultivable land in lieu of their former land.
There were fears, however, that those displaced would be provided only
with financial compensation.
Following calls by the demonstrators to meet with the state District
Collector, Mr Viswa Mohan Upadhyaya, members of the police forces
reportedly used baton sticks against the demonstrators. It is reported
that twenty people, including five women, were injured and brought to
the hospital for treatment following the incident. A 13-year-old boy,
Suren Jagan, from Avalda village, Madhya Pradesh state, sustained
multiple fracture injuries in his hand.
Amnesty International is concerned by this incident and urges the Madhya
Pradesh government to ensure that the right to peaceful assembly is
upheld and that the police, when fulfilling their public order duties,
respect human rights and use force only when strictly necessary and in a
proportionate manner. The organization also calls on the government to
ensure that the Supreme Court orders are respected and that the rights
of those displaced are upheld in full.
Background
The demonstrators were affiliated to Narmada Bachao Andolan, an
environmental social movement, who has campaigned for the last two
decades against the social and environmental consequences of large scale
dams which have been developed as part of the Narmada River Valley
Development plan.
Narmada is the fifth largest river in India and flows west over a length
of 1,312 km before draining into the Gulf of Cambay in Gujarat. The
Narmada River Valley Development plan is a twenty year multipurpose
power and irrigation project, consisting of 30 dams including two large
scale dams, which has been implemented by the states of Madhya Pradesh,
Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.