Chandil Dam is a major dam of Subernarekha Multipurpose Project (SMP) in the Jharkhand state of India. It is built across river Subernarekha. The main purposes of Chandil Dam are providing the water supply for Irrigation, Drinking and for Industrial use, Hydroelectricity and Flood control. The dam is located at Chandil which is 30 km from industrial city Jamshedpur and 105 km from state capital Ranchi.
History of Chandil Dam
The Subernarekha Multipurpose Project (SMP) is a joint venture of Government of Jharkhand, Orissa and West Bengal. A Tripartite Agreement to this effect (TPA) was concluded between the Chief Ministers of Bihar (before the formation of the Jharkhand State), West Bengal and Orissa at New Delhi on 7.8.1978.
For the project purpose land was acquired from local inhabitants, and the construction of Chandil Dam was started in 1982-83. However, the project works stopped on many occasion due to the opposition to land acquisition by the landowners. As part of the construction of the Chandil dam, the government acquired 116 villages around 43500 acres of land during 1986-87. However, the displaced villagers are yet to be properly compensated. Around 12,000 families were potentially displaced.
The agitations by the landowners started since 1972 when the project was initially conceptualized. In January 1979 thousands of tribal, hold a protest demonstration at the dam site. Police fired bullets to the agitating protesters resulted in deaths of four individuals. Since then, villagers are repeatedly protesting for rehabilitation and compensation to the concerned authorities.
There was the allegation of financial corruptions, irregularities, and mismanagement found in this project. The project found fresh life when the World Bank sanctioned $127mn as assistance, but it withdrew the funding in 1990 as the agitation continued. The government of undivided Bihar stopped work, leading to paralysis till 1998.
The protest got momentum after the formation of an organization called Visthapiti Mukti Vahini (VMV). VMV has continued to push for an increase in the rehabilitation package amount every year, based on relevant indices. In 2010, VMV had managed to stop the submergence of 52 villages by stalling a proposed 5m increase in the dam height.
The other long-term success of VMV’s efforts has been to initiate several livelihood opportunities based in and around the Chandil Dam reservoir for local families.
Once hopelessly alienated from their land and water, the local people here are now building a hopeful and self-reliant future for themselves through VMV’s initiatives to positively engage with government mechanisms. Cage culture, fish and geese cultivation, livestock breeding, horticulture/fruit trees plantation, lacquer/shellac agriculture, and development of tourism through boating have created robust and sustainable livelihood opportunities for many.
