Jaipur: The state govt is set to take a call on the long-pending rehabilitation of over 1,700 families displaced by the Mahi Bajaj Sagar Dam and now facing a second round of displacement due to a proposed nuclear power project in Mahi Banswara, with a key meeting scheduled Thursday.Officials said a state-level committee will meet stakeholders to deliberate on the rehabilitation framework, even as affected families have rejected the govt’s cash compensation and are demanding land-for-land in nearby areas. The families, largely from Bhil and other tribal communities, were first displaced between 1970 and 1985 during the dam’s construction and claim they were never adequately resettled. With the new project coming up near Napla village, they now fear being uprooted again. “Cash compensation is unacceptable. We lost our ancestral fertile land once and were never properly rehabilitated. We need agricultural land nearby so we can continue farming and stay together,” representatives of the affected families said. Backing their demand, Banswara MP Rajkumar Roat said, “This is a long-pending issue. These families are being displaced for the second time. The govt must ensure land-for-land rehabilitation in the same region.” The proposed project, being developed by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited, is moving ahead with initial works, adding urgency to the rehabilitation question. In parallel, a separate committee chaired by the Udaipur divisional commissioner is expected to review plans for development of the dam area, including tourism, water sports and regulated land use. However, the overlap of large-scale development plans and the nuclear project have heightened concerns among residents, who fear further marginalisation without proper rehabilitation. Roat said, “If people who have already sacrificed their land once are again displaced without proper resettlement, it raises serious questions of justice.” Tribal groups have reiterated demands for land-for-land compensation, priority employment in the project, and proper implementation of rehabilitation provisions under the land acquisition law. With the govt now stepping in to engage stakeholders, the outcome of Thursday’s meeting is expected to be crucial in determining the future of thousands of families in the tribal belt of southern Rajasthan.
