Adivasi resistance grows. In Dadhan village, Madhya Pradesh, Adivasis are protesting the Ken-Betwa river linking project. The dam will submerge 10 villages and displace 22 villages across MP and UP.
Villagers say they were promised ₹12.5 lakh and ₹5 lakh per acre, but only for those 85+ in Feb 2024. Others get nothing. “We want a forest for our forest, land for our land,” says Jayanti Bai.
The project aims to transfer water from the Ken to the water-scarce Betwa basin for irrigation in Bundelkhand. The Union Cabinet approved it in 2021. But locals argue there was no real consultation.
Activists say the 2017 forest advisory committee report on displacement was never fully implemented. In July, houses were demolished without compensation, triggering a 45-day protest.
The core issue is not anti-development, but unfair terms. Adivasis depend on the Ken for farming and culture. Displacement means loss of identity, not just land.
Experts suggest a joint survey, fair compensation, and resettlement before construction. India needs water projects, but not at the cost of making citizens homeless. Ken-Betwa will be a test of whether development can be both fast and just.