Karnataka villagers stare at bleak future after MLA's eviction letter to govt

In a typical case of development gone wrong, villagers who slogged to develop a power project in Karnataka’s Shimoga district have been left to rot without even basic amenities for the past 70 years.

Activists say people inhabiting a section of the Western Ghats have been ruined ever since their properties submerged due to the Sharavathi Hydropower Project in the Linganamakki reservoir.

300 families affected

The villagers lack roads, electricity, schools, and even potable water. Authorities have not bothered to provide them with monetary compensation. And they have endured the hardships for decades. About 300 families are affected by the project.

Efforts ongoing for five to six years to provide basic amenities like roads and electricity to these villages in the jurisdiction of the Sharavathi Singalika Sanctuary in Shimoga district have not borne fruit.

Ever since the media began highlighting the people’s torment, activists and civil society groups have taken steps to get them justice.

The Shimoga district administration, the forest department, and Mangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (MESCOM) have prepared a project report to provide electricity and build dirt roads.

What MLA wrote to state government

The issue has taken a new turn ever since local Congress MLA Beluru Gopalakrishna told Karnataka forest minister Ishwar B Khandre that the villages need to move away from the sanctuary to start a new life.

Consequently, the Chief Conservator of Forests has told the Shimoga wildlife zone to visit villages and submit a comprehensive report in a month to identify the villages within the Sharavathi sanctuary.

The MLA's letter and the subsequent developments have sparked concerns among the villagers. With Shimoga set to vote in the third phase of Lok Sabha elections on May 7, this issue is being heavily debated in the region.

While Congress Lok Sabha candidate Geetha Shivarajkumar and her brother and district in-charge minister Madhu Bangarappa have pledged to provide land and livelihoods to these communities, the MLA’s letter has caused significant distress.

Gopalakrishna has told the state government in his letter dated January 31, 2024, that the villagers wish to be resettled voluntarily from the sanctuary.

"The fact that families in Urulugallu, Kanuru and Meghane villages of Sagar taluk's Sharavathi Valley Singalika Sanctuary are leading impoverished lives devoid of basic civic amenities is a matter of great concern," the MLA said.

'Families ready to move out'

He said that providing civic amenities to families in the villages in different parts of the forest poses a significant financial burden and challenges various authorities vis-a-vis permission.

He claimed that when the affected families were consulted, “they willingly and enthusiastically provided letters of consent to relocate from the sanctuary if a suitable solution could be found”.

According to him, this represents a win-win solution for both the families as well as wildlife.

The MLA suggested that the families ready to move out should be settled in the first phase using the more than Rs 1,000 crore of Karnataka's share under the Compensatory Afforestation Fund and funds from other sources. He said four families from Melinuru near Kanuru fort who are ready to relocate in the first phase and have already submitted consent letters to the forest department three years ago, will be resettled.

Subsequently, in the second phase, people from Urulugallu, Salkodlu, Cheekanahalli, Hebbanakeri, Mundavala, Belluru and Meghane can also be rehabilitated, he said.

But many of those affected by the electricity project feel the MLA has acted hastily and also without consulting them.

Many of them belong to tribes like Kunbi, Gond, Hasalar, Jain, Deevaru and other forest-dwelling communities.

MLA contradicts

When contacted by The Federal, MLA Gopalakrishna contradicted himself by saying he had written the letter but did not mention anything about eviction and the replacement of villagers. He also accused the Opposition BJP of politicising the issue.

“This issue has been politicised by the BJP. I have actually urged the government to provide all basic amenities to the people in their current location,” Gopalakrishna told The Federal.

“I have also spoken to Power Minister KJ George regarding basic needs and electricity for those villagers. I have never mentioned anything about eviction. Some individuals requested relocation from the area and asked for proper replacement. I clearly informed them that this is not possible and that basic facilities will be provided in the same villages where they currently reside,” he added.

What villagers say

“This letter acknowledges our decades-long struggle for basic rights and access to essential amenities while also recognising our role in preserving wildlife and forests,” said Omendra Marathi, a youth leader in Meghane.

“It is deeply unjust that the MLA has not visited our villages or engaged in discussions with any of our communities but has instead favoured certain interests, leaving us feeling betrayed,” Marathi told The Federal.

According to him, their villages have existed alongside the Sharavathi project for generations.

“We have a school and electricity in our village (Meghane). All we lack is a road. Despite 10 years since the project was sanctioned, no road construction has commenced due to lack of permission from the Forest Department.

“It is devastating to learn that the MLA, who was supposed to oversee road construction, has suddenly decided to uproot our village of 70 houses. Hearing that he wrote a letter claiming our consent without visiting our village feels like the sky has fallen on us,” Marathi said.

Nagaraj, the village leader of Urulugallu, said: “Sixty years ago we lost our homes due to the Sharavathi Yojana and resettled here. The government provided us land. Yet, we still lack roads, electricity, or schools.

“For the past decade, we have engaged in protests, demonstrations, sit-ins and office visits. Despite completing the survey for underground power connections and preparing (a project report), the file lies dormant. Gopalakrishna, who stood with us during our struggles, has now written this letter without consulting us, leaving us heartbroken.”

This article was originally published in The Federal Karnataka.