The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has issued notices to the state government and the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) on a petition by inhabitants of two villages in Gurez tehsil of Bandipora in north Kashmir which are getting dislocated by the ongoing construction of the 330-megawatt Kishanganga hydroelectric project.
While issuing notices, a division Bench of the High Court directed the respondents to file their response to the petition, which has now been treated as a public interest litigation by the HC, within four weeks.
The NHPC’s Kishanganga hydroelectric project, with a generation capacity of 330 MW of electricity, is coming up by utilising the waters of the Kishanganga in Bandipora district through a 23-km tunnel.
However, the project is leading to the displacement of more than 400 families, of which more than 200 families belong to the Schedule Tribe category, in two villages of Badwan Wanpora and Mastan Khopri in Gurez tehsil of the district.
The project consists of various components, including the construction of the water storage dam, which would engulf and submerge these two tribal villages entirely, leading to the displacement of these tribal families permanently. This has been submitted in the petition filed by the inhabitants of these two villages through their counsel Altaf Mehraj.
Initially, while the execution of the project began, the respondent state government had sought the consensus of the petitioners on a rehabilitation and settlement policy formulated in 2011, which was by and large containing the various benefits which are contained in the National Policy of 2007, a framework policy containing board guidelines to rehabilitate and resettle population affected by the development projects.
“The policy was, by and large, containing the various benefits which are contained in the National Policy of 2007. However, the respondent (J&K Government) had not resorted to the procedure as is provided in the National Policy of 2007,” it has been submitted in the petition.
However, in December 2015, the J&K Government again came up with a new policy of rehabilitation and resettlement for the petitioners and also got its approval through the Cabinet.
“However, the most vital and important issue of the resettlement and rehabilitation of the petitioners is yet to be taken care of by the respondents (government),” it has been submitted while seeking quashing of the Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy 2015.
“The impugned policy thereby lacks in the most important and vital aspects of the rehabilitation of the petitioners as far as their means of livelihood are concerned,” the petitioners submitted, adding that they would lose their means of occupation, livelihood once their villages and land got submerged in dam waters. Whereas for mitigating these concerns, the respondent (J&K Government) had not provided anything substantial in the impugned policy, they said.
High Court issue notices to Govt, NHPC
