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NHRC notice on Hirakud Dam

Posted on March 2, 2021 by admin1  460

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  • National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) issued notices to the Chief Secretaries of Odisha and Chhattisgarh over the action taken to mitigate the sufferings of people displaced by the construction of the Hirakud dam over the Mahanadi river about six decades ago.

About

  • Issue: When the dam was built, a total of 73,923 hectares (182,590 acres) of land was submerged that included agricultural land and  government land, including forest land.
    • A total of 111 villages were fully submerged & 174 villages were partially submerged.
  • Hirakud dam: It is built across the Mahanadi River and  located in the Sambalpur district of Odisha.
    • After high floods of 1937, Er. M. Visveswaraya gave a proposal for detailed investigation for storage reservoirs in Mahanadi basin to tackle the problem of flood in Mahanadi delta.
      • It is a multipurpose scheme intended for flood control, irrigation and power generation.
    • It is home to several bird species like common pochards, red-crested pochards and great crested grebes, making it an appealing spot for birdwatchers.
  • Mahanadi Basin: The Mahanadi basin is the 8th largest basin in the country which is nearly 4.28% of the total geographical area of the country.
    • The Mahanadi basin is divided into 3 sub basins, namely upper, middle and lower Mahanadi.
      • The upper basin is a saucer shaped and mostly lies in Chhattisgarh state.
      • The Mahanadi is one of the major east flowing peninsular rivers in India, originating in Dhamtari district of Chhattisgarh and draining into Bay of Bengal.
  • It ranks second to the Godavari river among the peninsular rivers in respect of water potential.
  • The three right bank tributaries are  Seonath, Ib on the Le Bank and Tel, Seonath is the longest tributary of Mahanadi.
  • The Central Government constituted Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal in 2018 for resolving disputes between Chhattisgarh & Odisha.

 About National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)

  •  Introduction: NHRC is a statutory body, constituted under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, to protect and promote human rights related to life, liberty, equality and dignity of individuals
  • Composition:NHRC (National Human Rights Commission) consists of:
    • Chairperson, should be retired Chief Justice of India.
    • One Member who is, or has been, a Judge of the Supreme Court of India
    • One Member who is, or has been, the Chief Justice of a High Court.
    • Two Members to be appointed from among persons having knowledge of, or practical experience in, matters relating to human rights.
    • In addition, the Chairpersons of four National Commissions of (Minorities, SC and ST, Women) serve as ex officio members.
  • Tenure: The chairman and members hold office for a term of three years or until they attain the age of 70 years, whichever is earlier.
    • The President can remove the chairman or any member from the office under some circumstances.
  • Functions: The functions of the Commission as stated in Section 12 of the Act, it enquires into complaints of violation of human rights or negligence in the prevention of such violation by a public servant.
    • It studies treaties and international instruments on human rights and makes recommendations for their effective implementation to the Government.
    • The Commission is responsible for spreading human rights awareness amongst the masses and encouraging the efforts of all stakeholders in the field of human rights literacy not only at the national level but at international level too.
  • Powers: The Commission shall have all the powers of a civil court trying a suit under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, and in particular the following, namely;
    •  Summoning and enforcing the attendance of witnesses and examining them on oath;
    •  discovery and production of any document;
    •  receiving evidence on affidavits;
    •  requisitioning any public record or copy thereof from any court or office;
    •  issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses or documents;
    •  any other matter which may be prescribed.
    • Issues: It only has recommendatory powers with no penal provisions for its non-implementation.
      • Its annual report is not timely laid in parliament.
      • Lack of adequate manpower.
      • It can’t investigate a case after 1 year of its occurrence.
      • Pending cases & gender diversity.

Source: TH

 
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