Financial institutions should not invest in destructive project

Mumbai, May 29 (UNI) The Project affected people of the Maheshwar Dam being built on Narmada river in Madhya Pradesh today urged the financial institutions not to invest the public money in distructive projects.

Ms Chittaroopa Palit, a social activist told mediapersons here today that they met the GIC (General Insurance Corporation) and LIC (Life Insurance Corporation) officials today in Mumbai and will also meet the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) officials tomorrow to discuss the issue.

She said the project work remained suspended since 2001 and about three to five months back, the Indian Financial Institutions recommenced to resume the work with public money.

Hundreds of project affected people (PAP) including women today protested at the Oval Maidan in Churchgate, and Azad Maidan in Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) against the recommencement of the project work .

The delegates said the regulatory institutions like SEBI and RBI should not allow a public issue for the project in the light of the technical, financial and social problems dogging the project.

They also demanded that the RBI should immediately institute an enquiry into the arbitrary disbursement of over Rs 700 crore of public money that had been acquired from various employees' provident and pension funds by the MPSIDC (Madhya Pradesh State Industrial Development Corporation).

The Maheshwar Dam, one of 30 dams is a part of the Narmada Valley Development project and is the first private financed hydroelectric dam in the country. The dam is expected to displace around one lakh people. The project has been dogged by controversy from its inception in 1993. There was neither available land nor a rehabilitation plan for the Maheshwar project, she added.

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