Thousands of farmers of five gram panchayats of Nuapada district, who benefited from the Upper Jonk Irrigation Project to cultivate Rabi crops till 2010, have been staging a demonstration at the zero head canal point near Panchampur village for the last 20 days demanding equal distribution of water among all the farmers of the ayacut area of the project.
The project, locally known as Patora, dam has an ayacut area of 9,920 hectares out of which 810 hectares belong to Chhattisgarh. But due to restriction imposed by the Forest and Environment Department, the water storage has been reduced and, as a consequence, the irrigation potential has come down affecting the irrigated area during Rabi season. To address this problem, the Pani Panchayats had arrived at a water distribution agreement to provide equal benefit to all farmers. Ayayacut area was divided into two segments and the farmers agreed that each segment would get water in alternate year for Rabi. But violating this agreement, farmers in lower ridge of the ayacut did not allow the upper ridge farmers to take water during Rabi. Therefore, the farmers of the upper ridge which consists of Dharambandha, Sarabong, Bhera, Chulhabhat, Amanara and Mota Nuapada panchayats protested and requested the administration to intervene. As the administration did not take any action, the aggrieved farmers decided to stage demonstration which is running for the last 20 days. They have not allowed the water to be released and have declared noncooperation in Government activities.
“We will not participate in the forthcoming elections,” they said. They are also not participating in the PEETHA and KALIA and Voter Varifiable Paper Audit Trail (VV PAT) programme in villages. Even the schools have been closed and the children are sitting in demonstration with their parents.
In the meanwhile, BJD Panchayat leaders have sent their resignations from organisational posts to the party’s district president.
The FRL (Full Reservoir Level) of the project is 354.10m but water is being stored at RL 350.60m. The reason for non-storing of water up to FRL is non-receipt of forest clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forest, which had rejected the diversion proposal of 142.699 hectares in view of the ban order of the Supreme Court on diversion of sanctuary forest land.
The case in the meanwhile has been disposed off by the SC. Once the forest clearance is obtained from the MOEF the storage can be enhanced to the FRL.
"The MOEF had asked the State Government to submit a fresh proposal which has been submitted to the Board of Wild Life. Both the State as well as the Union Government are responsible for the delay in getting the clearance. These political parties are responsible for the delay, none of them are trying to settle the stalemate here,” commented some Government officials.