Issue and opposition: The decision of the Madhya Pradesh (MP) government to construct a dam on the Kharak River upset the tribal residents of the Barwani and Khargone districts since the plan aimed at displacing the villagers. The MP government began land acquisition in 2011. The tribals protested against the construction of the dam and wanted to be rehabilitated and compensated before the government began the construction. The controversy further thickened when in 2012, a small percentage of villagers from three villages- Bilwa, Kaniapani, and Choukhand- were given extremely small amounts of compensation. Although the district collector had fixed the amount to be INR 1.6 lakhs per acre of land that were not under cultivation and INR 3.20 lakhs for the plots used for cultivation, the MP government granted only INR 40,000 per acre as compensation. The state government promised the tribals that the remaining compensation would be paid out in installments in due course of time and that any disruption to the building of the dam would be punished. Tribals of other Barwani villages such as Kamat, Kaniapani, Julwania, and Muvasia received zero compensation because they did not have land rights over the forested lands they occupied. The tribals organized themselves under the Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan. The Sangathan continued their protests against the MP government after 2017 when the government flouted the Supreme Court order to rehabilitate and compensate villagers under the state’s Rehabilitation Policy of 2002. In total, 300 households in 5 villages were displaced due to the dam’s construction. Appealing to the MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan did not help. The government was not ready to pay a dime more than a total of INR 20 crores in compensation packages, the same amount Chauhan’s government spent on cabinet refreshments annually.
Dilemma Action: In 2019, the protesters in large numbers voluntarily get arrested for participating in anti-government peaceful rallies. The idea was to flood the jails and carry on peaceful demonstrations like shouting anti-government slogans from within the jail cells. This action is Gandhian in nature much like the hunger strike and is an example of Satyagraha or non-violent resistance.
Outcome: Nothing came out of this dilemma action and the various actions that followed the court orders. Multiple Grievance Redressal Authorities were set up to discuss the rehabilitation and compensation issues but no conclusions have been yet reached.