Year on, farmers firm on Dadupur-Nalvi

Geetanjali Gayatri

Tribune News Service

Yamunanagar, August 19

The Dadupur-Nalvi canal project maybe a closed chapter for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Haryana since its denotification, but it is still an unfinished story for farmers who have their hearts set upon bringing it back to life.

Their undisguised never-say-die spirit has not given up just yet and it is evident from their dharna which completes a year on August 22. For every single day for the past 363 days, farmers from adjoining villages have been sitting under the shade of trees, in one corner, on the pavement in front of the Secretariat. They have one demand — the withdrawal of the project’s denotification.

The project was conceived to recharge groundwater and provide canal irrigation to Ambala, Kurukshetra and Yamunanagar districts. But owing to the high enhancement costs ordered by courts, the project was scrapped. The state government has already offered to farmers to buy back their land acquired for the purpose.

“I lost five acres to the project. The land has been dug 36-ft deep and we are in a ‘no mining’ zone. We are expected to get earth from faraway districts and other states to level our land. Lifting and rolling alone will cost us Rs 3 crore. Does the government think farmers have ample money? Buying back our land is beyond our capacity. On top of that, we need every drop of water to recharge the groundwater,” says Khera village resident Kashmir Singh, who has been leading the year-long protest.

Ruing that his two acres were acquired for the project, Ram Kumar of Sudhail village said four brothers are tilling four acres and living a hand-to-mouth existence. “The government is asking us to take back our land. In that case, why not give us back the land acquired for railway tracks, roads and government buildings?”

Playing cards or discussing the status of court cases, farmers sit from morning to evening to make their point and they have as many reasons as they have men. “How can any groundwater recharge project ever be non-viable as the government claims and at a time when the water table is falling all around? In RTI replies, the government has admitted that the Dadupur-Nalvi project had been recharging the water table for the past seven years. We have receipts of Rs 40 per acre paid to buy water for irrigation and water was released in the canal from 2011 to 2017,” says Mahender Singh of Kharon village who lost three of his five acres to the canal.

Terming the government decision as “thoughtless”, the farmers claim that the canal, with overgrown grass and weeds, was not even cleaned this year. “The gates were shut and the Rakshi river had no outlet to drain into. Villages, on one side, faced flooding as well. We had to push the administration to open the gates to allow the water to drain into the canal. Then, there are people who have bought showrooms and constructed houses on the acquired land. Will the government oust them in case a farmer wants his land? This is the most thoughtless decision and speaks volumes of the anti-farmer policies of the BJP government which lacks experience,” says Pawan Kamboj of Guglon village.

They say that the money received as award for their land was insufficient to purchase new land elsewhere. The only option, they say, is that the canal be made functional.

“We are going to campaign against the BJP till the denotification is withdrawn. The Opposition is with us and has assured us the canal will be made. We are pursuing court cases and are hopeful the court will come to our rescue. The protest may have completed a year, but it is the first milestone. The canal will become functional,” they said, adding that they will bring the water even if it comes with their money going down the drain.

How can any groundwater recharge project ever be non-viable as the government claims and at a time when the water table is falling all around? In RTI replies, the government has admitted that the Dadupur-Nalvi project had been recharging the water table for the past seven years. — Mahender Singh, Kharon village resident

I lost five acres to the project. The land has been dug 36-ft deep and we are in a 'no mining' zone. We are expected to get earth from faraway districts and other states to level our land. Lifting and rolling alone will cost us Rs 3 crore. Does the government think farmers have ample money? — Kashmir Singh, khera village resident