Vallabhsagar reservoir inundated 170 villages, affecting more than 16 000 families, 90% them belonging to the tribals. All the affected were rehabilitated in 17 clusters of villages on the periphery of the reservoir. Fisheries have been considered as one of the means to rehabilitate the people who lost their source of livelihood on account of displacement.

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Over the past two decades, the issue of large dams and the displacement it has caused in Gujarat has wreaked havoc with the lives of tribal Adivasis of Gujarat. Bottom of Form

The dam led to the loss of thousands of acres of land, all of which belonged to Adivasis of the region. The displaced people moved to other regions, but the process of resettlement has been anything but smooth.

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We visited the village of Limri, about 30 km from the site of the dam where almost 70 families from the submerged villages moved out of desperation. The village consists of about 200 villages and has a near-equal split between Hindu and Christian Adivasis. In the village, we met Sureshbhai Vasava, a 37-year old pastor who grew up as a ‘displaced’ in the village. Vasava talks about the stories of loss that he heard from his father and grandfather. “According to them, we had about 10 hectares of land which got submerged in the catchment area of the Ukai Dam.

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“We were displaced in 1970 and landed up here, about 30 km from our native village, with a few things that we salvaged from our homes. We arrived on bullock carts…we were promised land for land then, and 47 years later, the truth is for all to see,” he says. “We came here, settled here, and started farming on land that technically belongs to the forest division and the government, but we were left with no choice but to farm in these places. It has been the same since the 70s, ” he added.

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It is important to point out it is not as if the government treats the family of Vasava and other displaced families as encroachers. After all, the families have been issued voter ID cards, ration cards and even Aadhar based on their current addresses. Yet, when it comes to the all-important question of allotting land to these families, the government has chosen ignorance as their best weapon.

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About 30 km from Limri is the village of Amalpada, which consists almost entirely of displaced families. Sumanbhai Vasava is a 63-year old who was a teenager when he and his family was displaced in 1968. He claims that his family lost about 124 acres to the dam, but also adds that he considers himself lucky. “In three installments, we got 10 acres of land in the village. It is nowhere close to what we lost, but at least it is something. Some people got half an acre to build a house, others did not get even that,” he says.

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As mentioned earlier, Ukai Dam is listed as a multi-purpose dam, and irrigation is one of its main functions. The nearly 5-km long dam, with the largest reservoir in Gujarat, however, adds nothing to the lives of the Adivasis who lost the most at its hands. As Sumanbhai reminds us, “It was only a few years ago that we got hand-pumps installed in our village. You should come during the summer season to see how parched the land is; how difficult it is to get even drinking water. This year, thanks to good rainfall, we have been able to sow satisfactorily. We have such a huge dam, yet depend on rains for a healthy harvest.”

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(Dasrathbhai Vasava, whose father was displaced and moved to Moglipada, is currently fighting a case in the Ahmedabad HC after his FRA claim was rejected. To read full report on this, click here)