End Repression of Communities Resisting the Ken–Betwa River Linking Project: Undertake comprehensive review of the socio-ecological impacts of Project
napm india
End Repression, Defend Democratic Rights: Ensure Justice and Dignity for Communities Resisting the Ken–Betwa River Linking Project:
NAPM Calls for Dialogue, Accountability of the State, and Protection of People’s Constitutional Rights and a comprehensive review of the socio-ecological impacts of the Ken–Betwa River Linking Project in Madhya Pradesh
17th May 2026: The All-India Rivers Forum (AIRF) and the National Alliance for Climate and Ecological Justice (NACEJ) strongly condemns the illegal arrests and continued repression unleashed against Adivasi communities, farmers, women protesters, and activists resisting the destructive Ken–Betwa River Linking Project in Madhya Pradesh.
We express our unwavering solidarity with the thousands of Adivasi and forest-dependent families from Panna and Chhatarpur districts who are courageously defending their jal, jangal, zameen, livelihoods, habitats, and constitutional rights against forced displacement and ecological devastation. We strongly condemn the vindictive targeting of people’s movement leaders Amit Bhatnagar, Divya Ahirwar, and Hisabi Rajput.
The filing of serious charges against them is a calculated attempt to silence the movement and suppress democratic dissent, which is a violation of the people’s constitutional rights. We call for an immediate end to this spree of repression, meaningful dialogue with the affected communities, accountability of the state, protection of people’s constitutional and legal rights and a comprehensive, independent review of the socio-ecological impacts of the Ken–Betwa River Linking Project.
State Repression and Criminalization of Democratic Protest:
According to reports from local communities and eyewitnesses, villages including Dhodhan, Palakauha, Kupi, Khariyani, and nearby areas have been subjected to severe administrative and police repression in recent days. Peaceful villagers protesting forced eviction and demolition linked to the Ken–Betwa project were allegedly met with lathicharge, tear gas, arbitrary detention, barricading of villages, night patrols, intimidation through loudspeaker announcements, and the deployment of massive police forces. Residents have described the affected villages as resembling military cantonments rather than democratic spaces.
The Jan Sangharsh Samannay Samity (JSSS) (People’s Movements Coordination Committee), Madhya Pradesh, has reported that on 13th May, a First Information Report (FIR) was registered at Kishangarh police station against around 150 people, including named activists Amit Bhatnagar, Divya Ahirwar, and Hisabi Rajput, under serious charges such as attempt to murder, conspiracy, rioting, and related provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Eyewitnesses have reportedly stated that some of the named activists were not even present at the site during the alleged incident.
The FIR alleges that villagers protesting against demolition and displacement attacked police and administrative teams during an eviction drive linked to dam construction activities at Dhodhan village. It further claims that government machinery and JCB equipment deployed for demolition were damaged during the confrontation. However, local movements and rights groups maintain that the FIR is false, malicious, and intended to criminalize resistance movements and facilitate forced evictions and land acquisition without due process.
Underlying Concerns: Displacement, Ecological Destruction and Denial of Rights:
Over the past several months, people affected by the Ken–Betwa project have repeatedly raised serious concerns regarding the destruction of forests and river ecosystems, arbitrary land acquisition, inadequate compensation, lack of transparent surveys and denial of forest rights, rehabilitation rights. Instead of engaging democratically with these concerns, the administration and police have resorted to repression, criminalization, surveillance, barricading of villages, and repeated filing of fresh and unverified criminal cases against protesters and movement leaders.
The Ken–Betwa River Linking Project is not an isolated case of ecological damage, but part of a larger pattern where big development projects often come at the cost of nature and local communities. In this case, the planned submergence of parts of the sensitive Panna Tiger Reserve is not merely an unintended consequence, but an integral feature of the project design itself. It reflects a development approach in which forests and rivers are treated primarily as resources to be extracted and reallocated, rather than as living ecosystems with intrinsic ecological, cultural, and life-sustaining value.
At the social level, the burden of such projects falls disproportionately on forest-dependent communities whose lives are deeply intertwined with these ecosystems. They are frequently treated as secondary stakeholders in decisions that fundamentally reshape their world, while the benefits such as redistributed water and expanded agricultural potential tend to accrue elsewhere, to more advantaged regions and groups. Women in the affected region have already expressed the depth of this crisis through symbolic “Chita Andolan” protests, declaring that the destruction of their lands and forests feels like a death sentence for their communities and future generations.
Call to Uphold Constitutional and Legal Rights:
The people affected by this project possess clear legal rights under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (LARR) Act, 2013, including rights to prior consultation and consent, fair compensation, rehabilitation, and transparent decision-making processes.
The rights of Adivasi and other forest-dwelling communities under the Forest Rights Act, 2006 must also be fully honoured. The suppression of these rights through intimidation, violence, and arbitrary arrests is unacceptable in a constitutional democracy.
We therefore demand:
- Withdrawal of all false and fabricated FIRs registered against activists and affected communities.
- An independent judicial inquiry into allegations of illegal detention, police brutality, harassment, torture, and abuse by authorities.
- Immediate halt to forced evictions, demolitions, and coercive land acquisition in the affected villages.
- Full implementation of the provisions of the LARR Act, 2013, including consent process, fair compensation, rehabilitation, and transparency.
- Full implementation of the Forest Rights Act, 2006, and protection of the rights of Adivasi and other forest-dwelling communities.
- Dignified rehabilitation of displaced families, including land-for-land and village-for-village rehabilitation measures, after due consent of the families.
- A comprehensive, transparent, and independent review of the ecological, social, and legal impacts of the Ken–Betwa River Linking Project before any further implementation.
Defending forests, rivers, biodiversity, and constitutional rights is not a crime - it is a constitutional duty bestowed upon us all through Article 51-A(g), and also a duty of the State through Article 48A. The people’s movement is not only defending their jal, jangal, zameen, but also the Constitution of India.
The All-India Rivers Forum and the National Alliance for Climate and Ecological Justice (NACEJ) stand in unwavering solidarity with all communities defending rivers, forests, their lands and villages and resisting ecological destruction, forced displacement, and state repression.
Issued by: National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM)
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