Centre Redirects River Linking Displacement Grievances to Madhya Pradesh Authorities

Background

For months, tribal communities in Madhya Pradesh's Chhatarpur district have staged intense demonstrations against the Ken-Betwa river linking project. Protesters have utilized symbolic tactics, including placing nooses around their necks and lying on makeshift pyres in the Barana river. While an initial demonstration took place in April, a second wave began in July after negotiations with government representatives collapsed. On July 19, 2026, security forces forcibly cleared the protest site, removing roughly 150 people and hospitalizing activist Amit Bhatnagar after a 14-day hunger strike.

Key Facts

• The Ministry of Tribal Affairs forwarded all received displacement complaints to the Madhya Pradesh government and district officials for resolution.
• Local residents allege that authorities are conducting forced evictions before completing the full compensation cycle.
• Protesters are demanding that each adult be categorized as an individual unit for compensation rather than using a per-family metric.
• Current federal data on displacement relies on a decade-old estimate from the National Water Development Agency concerning only Phase-I of the project.
• The Forest Rights Act prohibits the removal of forest rights claimants until all verification procedures are finalized.

Why It Matters

The response from the Ministry of Tribal Affairs highlights a procedural standoff between federal oversight and state-level execution. During a Lok Sabha session on August 6, 2026, Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Durgadas Uikey addressed inquiries from Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and MP Ajendra Singh Lodhi. Uikey stated that while his office has encouraged states to follow the Forest Rights Act, the actual functions of resettlement, rehabilitation, and obtaining Gram Sabha consent remain the sole responsibility of the state or the specific project authority. Critics argue this allows the central government to distance itself from alleged irregularities in the consent and compensation process.

What Happens Next

As the Ministry of Tribal Affairs continues to defer to state jurisdiction, the pressure remains on the Madhya Pradesh government to address claims of fraudulent Gram Sabha consent and inadequate beneficiary selection. The reliance on ten-year-old displacement data suggests that the true scale of the impact on tribal families remains unverified by current federal standards. Further legal or parliamentary scrutiny may follow if the state government fails to resolve the standing grievances of the Jai Kisan Sangathan and the affected villagers in Chhatarpur.

Source: The Hindu — National