Team News Riveting
Raipur, July 1
Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan (CBA) has demanded that the state government should take a call to save the 100-year-old Pendravan reservoir, which is important for irrigation and disposal water, located in Raipur district.
If Ultratech is given permission to mine, there will be a huge water crisis in dozens of villages including the dam, CBA Convenor Alok Shukla and Secretary of Pendravan Reservoir Bachao Kisan Sangharsh Samiti Ghanshyam Verma said a joint statement. They appealed to the state government not to allow mining in the Pendravan reservoir.
They said that if permission is given for mining, the more than 100-year-old historical dam, which irrigates 2440 hectares of land of 3440 farmers, will completely cease to exist. Dozens of villages in the area get disposal water from this reservoir and underground water sources are recharged. Along with the destruction of the reservoir due to mining, there will be a serious water crisis in the entire Kharora and Sargaon area and pollution due to mining.
Ultratech Company has proposed limestone mining in 689 hectares of area in the catchment of the reservoir. Shukla said under pressure from the company, the state’s water resources department on 3 January 2017 issued an NOC in favour of mining, which was disclosed under the Right to Information Act and after this, farmers had staged a massive agitation. Due to the farmer agitation and protest of the local MLA, the then Water Resources Minister had cancelled this NOC issued by the department on 20 March 2017.
The order of cancellation was challenged by the mining company in the High Court. On 25 April 2024, the court, while dismissing the cancellation order of the department, asked the Water Resources Department to take a decision again within three months by giving the company an opportunity to be heard.
“In line with the court’s order, we are demanding from the state government that without coming under the pressure of the company, it should take a decision in the interest of the farmers and the protection of the reservoir and the environment and not re-issue the NOC and cancel the mining contract (mining lease) made in favour of mining. In this regard, the farmers of the area will soon submit a memorandum to the Chief Minister,” Shukla and Verma said.
