Shripad and Nandini’s papers of Narmada Struggle

Content Description

The accession consists of case files of various cases of public interest litigation and civil nature filed in various jurisdictions by the Narmada Bachao Andolan. This takes the form of Writ Petition no. 319 / 1994 Narmada Bachao Andolan v Union of India and Others; Writ Petition no. 328 / 2002 Narmada Bachao Andolan v Union of India and Others; Civil Suit 1 of 1999 for review filed in the Madhya Pradesh High Court; W.P 128 / 2006 Upendra Baxi versus Union of India; and a special leave petition against the order of the Madhya Pradesh high court. These cases concern litigation against the lack of clearance and non-fulfilment of prerequisite conditions before the construction of the Narmada Sagar and Sardar Sarovar Project on the Narmada river; the use of reserved forest land and displacement of communities from tribal villages in multiple states (Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra et al) by submergence during the same; and evaluation of the measures taken, or neglected to be taken, to address the same, including resettlement, rehabilitation, compensation and reforestation. Along with the writ petitions are various written statements, replies, rejoinders, petitions for joinder and documents submitted as evidence including reports, referrals and findings of various committees such as the World Bank’s independent review and the Grievance Redressal Authority (GRA) for resettlement and rehabilitations measures. Also are included booklets and clippings related to the matter.

Condition Description

Some documents have suffered water damage and require to be handled with care. Others are in relatively good condition.

Accession Date

2023-09-01

Dispostion

The accession will be transferred to a new collection titled ‘Shripad and Nandini’s papers of the Narmada Struggle’, which has five series. Series one titled ‘Writ Petition 319/1994’ contains fifteen sub-series. Sub-series 1 to 9 are arranged according to the numbering of the volumes, with each sub-series containing 20 volumes, except for sub-series 9 which shall consist of volumes 160 to 189. This arrangement structure was followed as the volume numbers correspond materially to the chronology of the filings in the case. Sub-series 10 consists of volumes that have not been numbered. Sub-series 11 consists of documents related to contempt of court proceedings and some applications relating to proceedings before the National Human Rights Commission. Sub-series 12 consists of documents related to the Grievance Redressal Authority set up to address the claims of persons displaced by the Sardar Sarovar Project.Sub-series 13 contains various case research references in the form of reports and interoffice communications. Sub-series 14 contains Court Registry documents, including interim orders and judgments. Finally, sub-series 15 contains documents related to clarificatory and review petitions of the judgment in Writ Petition 319/1994. Series 2 will consist of the documents of Writ Petition 328/2002, divided into 3 sub-series. Sub-series 1 will consist of Interim applications, sub-series 2 of Registrar documents and sub-series 3 of correspondence. Series 3 will consist of documents relating to resettlement and rehabilitation cases and inter-state water disputes. Of these, sub-series 1 will pertain to the Special Leave Petition 6014/94; sub-series 2 to the Special Leave Petition 8035/1999; sub-series 3 to Civil Suit 1/1999. Sub-series 4 will correspond to a Writ Petition of 2001, and sub-series 5 to the Writ Petition of 2002. Sub-series 6 will pertain to the Writ Petition of 2006, while sub-series 7 will contain Writ Petition 128/2006 Upendra Baxi vs Union of India, sub-series 8, the Special Leave Petition 5720/2009 and sub-series 9, various documents related to Sardar Sarovar Project cases. Series 4 will contain publications and public outreach documentation of the Narmada Bachao Andolan. There are four sub-series in this series, corresponding to booklets, media clippings, notices and pamphlets, and open memorandums respectively. Finally, series 5 will consist of correspondence of the Narmada Bachao Andolan, with sub-series corresponding to the decades of 1980-1989; 1990-1999; and 2000-2009.

Acquisition Type

Gift

Provenance

The accession contains papers that belong to Nandini Oza and Shripad Dharmadhikari and the Narmada Bachao Andolan, i.e. the Narmada struggle. They were received on 1 September 2023 by Venkat Srinivasan at Archives at NCBS. The case files belonged to Prashant Bhushan who was the lawyer on behalf of the petitioners in the Writ Petition no. 319 / 1994 Narmada Bachao Andolan v Union of India and Others. The case files which were in Bhushan’s office were sent to Oza and Dharmadhikari who had kept it with them in their residence at Mulshi, Pune. Bhushan transferred the material to Shripad Dharmadikari as he was the co-signer on behalf of Narmada Bachao Andolan for the writ petition. It was packed and dispatched by Nandini Oza and Shripad Dharmadhikari from Mulshi, Pune.

Retention Rule

The Nandini and Shripad Papers of the Narmada Struggle fits under the scope of the Archives at NCBS as part of the history of ecological movements in India and the struggle for judicial recognition of human rights pertaining to the environment; specifically, the rights of tribal communities in forested lands, and their oppression and denial. It illustrates the interaction of human rights and environmental rights; and their juxtaposition against certain kinds of economic interests. It offers a record of environmental public interest litigation and an evaluation of the shortcomings to be addressed in the legal, judicial and administrative framework for environmental and tribal rights protection.

Language of Description

English

Script of Description

Latin

Restrictions Apply

Yes

Access Restrictions

Collection is open for access unless mentioned in specific folders

Use Restrictions

Copyright may not have been assigned to Archives, National Centre for Biological Sciences. Permission for reproduction or distribution must be obtained in writing from the Archives at NCBS (archives@ncbs.res.in). The Archives at NCBS makes no representation that it is the copyright owner in all of its collections. The user must obtain all necessary rights and clearances before use of material and material may only be reproduced for academic and non-commercial use.