The Steel Authority of India (SAIL) constructed a dam for the water supply to the Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) during the early 1950’s. The dam was built on the river Shankha near Rourkela, Orissa. This dam was conceptualized along with the Rourkela Steel Plant. It was a project of bilateral cooperation between India and Germany. German planners, German engineers and workers contributed essentially to the making of RSP and the Steel City. In 1953, the Government of India held consultations with German steel companies. In the 1950s, the public sector corporation Hindustan Steel Limited (HSL) had purchased a complete steel plant from 36 German companies (among them leading German companies like Mannesmann and Krupp) with roughly 3,000 subcontractors, but without sufficient coordination of the numerous supplies. Unfortunately, the HSL was not able to pay in cash as was originally considered. In 1958 German ECA KfW, with the support of the German Federal Government, took over the promissory notes to prolong the Indian obligations to pay. To avoid default on payments, from 1958 onwards, the German Government gave loans to secure these kind of core sector undertakings which was originally started by the private sector. As per Orissa government’s gazette notification, over 33 villages covering 25, 03,524 acres of land had been acquired in 1954 to set up the RSP and the reservoir [1]. The displaced people were not compensated properly. The partially compensated persons to whom the land was given was neither of equal size nor in quality. So, the people are demanding the compensation in terms of jobs and money since the project was implemented. The German organization Adivasi-Kooperation reported that "eviction operations were carried out in a manner which most of the displaced described as very brutal." [3]. People were loaded onto trucks and dropped in the forests without any instruction. Some of them were "forced to migrate further in search of a livelihood or were even evicted a second time by other new projects." [3]. (See less) |
The Steel Authority of India (SAIL) constructed a dam for the water supply to the Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) during the early 1950’s. The dam was built on the river Shankha near Rourkela, Orissa. This dam was conceptualized along with the Rourkela Steel Plant. |
| Name | Mandira Dam, Rourkela, Orissa, India |
| Country | India |
| Province | Orissa |
| Site | Kuanrmunda, Rourkela |
| Accuracy of Location | MEDIUM regional level |
| Project Details | Mandira Dam Project was planned in 1957-58 and constructed on Shankha river near Rourkela. The original plan of the dam was to supply water to Rourkela Steel Plant located nearby. For the about project 11,923.98 acres of land was acquired, and an estimated 941 families of 31 villages were uprooted or displaced [2] |
| Type of Population | Rural |
| Potential Affected Population | 5,000-10,000 |
| Start Date | 1957 |
| Company Names or State Enterprises | Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) from India |
| Relevant government actors | Government of Orissa, Government of Germany |
| International and Financial Institutions | German Development Bank KfW (KfW) from Germany |
| Environmental justice organisations and other supporters | Displaced Persons' Conference Organising Committee, Rourkela, Orissa, ASHRA, Sarini, Adivasi-Koordination in Germany |
| Intensity of Conflict (at highest level) | LOW (some local organising) |
| When did the mobilization begin | Mobilization for reparations once impacts have been felt |
| Groups Mobilizing | Farmers Indigenous groups or traditional communities International ejos Local ejos Local government/political parties Neighbours/citizens/communities Social movements |
| Forms of Mobilization | Public campaigns Street protest/marches |
| Environmental Impacts | Visible: Loss of landscape/aesthetic degradation, Deforestation and loss of vegetation cover, Surface water pollution / Decreasing water (physico-chemical, biological) quality, Groundwater pollution or depletion, Large-scale disturbance of hydro and geological systems Potential: Floods (river, coastal, mudflow) |
| Socio-economic Impacts | Visible: Displacement, Violations of human rights, Land dispossession, Lack of work security, labour absenteeism, firings, unemployment, Loss of traditional knowledge/practices/cultures, Loss of landscape/sense of place |
| Project Status | In operation |
| Pathways for conflict outcome / response | Strengthening of participation |
| Development of Alternatives | According to Adivasi-Kooperation's report: "The expectations and demands expressed in the interviews are most notably directed at the responsible Indian institutions and concern the fulfillment of the promises made during the construction phase of the steel plant. These include: - the provision of a job in the factory for at least one member of each displaced family; - receipt of compensation still outstanding for the loss of their land (adequately regarding size and quality), as well as - the urgent demarcation of the already allocated land. |
| Do you consider this as a success? | No |
| Why? Explain briefly. | The dam was built and now serves the steel plant. Compensation measures have been only partially met. |
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| Contributor | Swapan Kumar Patra&Daniela Del Bene |
| Last update | 01/07/2014 |