Around 3000 Project Affected People (PAP) of Morbe Dam have been protesting against the government at the Morbe Dam demanding jobs for the villagers and proper compensation to them. In the course of the protest, the villagers have broken the dam gates and entered the dam premises and also closed the valves of water to Navi Mumbai.
Even as the PAPs have claimed that the water valves to Navi Mumbai have been closed since morning and there would be water crisis in Navi Mumbai on Friday, The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) officials have denied the same. “The valves were closed only for a short period of time and the water supply to Navi Mumbai won’t be affected,” a said an official from NMMC.
The protest had started on June 27, and since none of the officials took note of the strike, the villagers became violent on Thursday. “We have been silently protesting for our demands but none of the officers took cognizance. On July 3, we finally decided that we would close the valves of the water supply to Navi Mumbai and on July 4, we did the same. The villagers are disturbed and out of control right now. We want the demands to be met,” Jagannath Patil, one of the PAPs said.
The Dam, situated in Khalapur Taluka in Raigad District, supplies water to Navi Mumbai and some nodes of CIDCO and is owned by NMMC. Villagers from eight revenue villages and seven tribal wadas entered the Dam premises and protested against the administration.
“In the year 1990, the land of the villagers was acquired. We never got the right compensation or jobs. None of the Acts that are usually applied in land acquiring process has been implemented in this case. We have been told that Mantralaya has printed an order in our favour and we would receive it tomorrow but till the time I get to see it on my whatsapp, I wont believe and the protest would continued,” Arjun Kadam, another PAP said.
According to the corporation, the Maharashtra Jal Pradhikaran (MJP) had started the work on dam in the year 1990 and due to lack of funds, they had put the dam on sale for nearby corporations. NMMC decided to acquire the dam and the last payment was made in the year 2010. The corporation said that the agreement was between them and MJP and no promise of jobs were made to the villagers.
