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Fears of displacement, damage to worship places unsettles Kerala hydro power project

D Jose in Thiruvananthapuram

A hydro-electric project conceived by the first Communist ministry in Kerala in 1957 and revived by the present regime is facing stiff opposition from religious bodies.

The project to be located in the backward district of Wyanad in north Kerala is opposed by all the major communities -- Christians, Muslims and Hindus -- that contend that it threatens to displace a host of places of worship and community institutions.

The project, the religious leaders fear, will lead to dislocation of 24 churches, 73 temples and 19 mosques besides several convents, ashrams and other institutions run by different communities. The environmentalists and the locals are also unhappy as it would lead to submergence of 4,000 hectares of fertile agricultural land, besides displacing local people.

The Christians are against the project as the churches face the prospect of losing vast tracts of land under their control -- however, a major portion of the land is said to be without proper legal documents. The Christians fear they will not get any compensation if the project is taken up.

The current agitation against the 225 MW Mananthawadi multi-purpose project is spearheaded by Mananthawadi Bishop Mar Immanual Pothanamuzhy.

The Bishop told Rediff on the NeT that his main consideration was the welfare of the people. He said that the agitation was aimed at protecting the livelihood of the people.

He went on to add that if the project is implemented it will lead to submergence of 1,225 hectares of paddy fields, 1,200 ha of coffee, 300 ha of reserve forest, 712 ha of lemongrass, 150 ha of cardamom, 85 ha of arecanut, 200 ha of rubber, 20 ha of tea plantations, 144 ha of forest and 36 ha of dryland.

The bishop said if the farmers are displaced they will have to struggle hard for a living in the new place of settlement. The project is likely to lead to displacement of 50,000 people if implemented in its original format.

Wyanad district Panchayat vice-president A Prabhakaran also feels that the project is not expected to get local support as people of all classes and communities in Wyanad would be affected by it.

The opposition Congress has also joined hands with the agitators as it argues that the attempt to revive the project abandoned some 14 years ago due to mounting protest smacked of ulterior political motives.

The Congress leaders said Chief Minister E K Nayanar and Power Minister Pinarayi Vijayan were trying to push the proposal as maximum benefit from the project will go to their home district of Kannur.

Moreover, the evacuation of over 50,000 people, the majority of whom are ardent Congress supporters, will also help them in breaking the traditional Congress stranglehold on the Kannur Lok Sabha and assembly constituencies. The resettlement of these people in new areas would lead to an erosion of Congress support in the two constituencies.

An action group consisting of religious organisations, tribals, farmers and politicians have come up to fight the project. The environmentalists say the project would cause irreparable damage to the eco-system.

''In Wyanad, which is situated 3000 feet above sea level, a project of such magnitude could create landslides, earthquakes and tremors,'' pointed out Father Sunny Puthanapara, Action Committee chairman.

''It would be difficult to rehabilitate the tribals who are used to certain lifestyle depending on natural resources,'' he added.

The Mananthavadi hydel project was the brainchild of the Namboodiripad ministry, which ruled the state from 1957 to 1959. The notification regarding implementation of the project was issued only during the LDF's tenure in 1980 which was subsequently withdrawn by the Congress-led United Front government in 1984 following protests from local people, and environmental organisations.

Thereafter, there was tremendous progress in the area as farmers began cultivating paddy, coffee, pepper, rubber, arecanut at the proposed site. Now, the farmers face an uncertain future following the government's decision to go ahead with the project, the local people said.

The Kerala State Electricity Board which is to execute the project is currently undertaking a civil survey of the proposed dam site at Walad, the place where the Periyapuzha and Makiad rivers converge to form the Mananthavady river. The state government is reportedly examining various options to implement the project with minor modifications to the original proposal in order to get clearance from the forest and environment ministry.