B.Y. Raghavendra raises issue of displacement due to Sharavathi Project in Parliament, appeals to MoEF to resolve problems

Shivamogga MP B.Y. Raghavendra urges resolution for land grant issue in Parliament, seeking support for forest land de-reservation.

Shivamogga Lok Sabha member B.Y. Raghavendra raised in Parliament the issue of people in Shivamogga, who have been waiting for a grant of land for decades after their lands were submerged for the Sharavathi Hydroelectric Project.

Mr. Raghavendra, making an appeal in Kannada during the Zero Hour on Wednesday, requested the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change to resolve the issue by allowing the State Government to de-reserve forest land in Karnataka.

Mr. Raghavendra elaborated that hundreds of families lost their agricultural land for the project implemented between 1958 and 1964. The State Government rehabilitated them in the forest areas, well before the Forest Conservation Act came into force. “The process of rehabilitation has not been completed. The cultivators have not got rights over the land. They have not been able to get any benefit offered by the governments or bank loans. They cannot build houses in the land,” he said.

The State Government had approached the Supreme Court, as per the advice of the Union Government, to get permission to de-reserve forest land. The court, on December 3, directed the Union Government and State Government to resolve the issue amicably. “I humbly request the Union Government to provide all necessary support to resolve the problems faced by the people,” he stated.