Explained: PM Modi’s address in Gujarat, in the shadow of PTN project protests

The protests against the now-scrapped project were spearheaded by Congress MLA Anant Patel, and the BJP fears losing this vote bank, which has tilted towards it in recent years.

What is the group water supply project about?

In 2018, PM Modi laid the foundation stone of Astol Group Water Supply scheme, which aims to supply potable tap water to homes in remote tribal villages under the Nal se Jal mission.

Sources said over 95 per cent work of this scheme is complete. Nearly 4.5 lakh people in 174 villages and 1,028 falias (neighbourhoods) in Dharampur and Kaprada taluka of Valsad district will get water at homes through this project. The main pipeline network is 74.77-kilometre long, and has been laid in hilly terrain.

Pumps ranging from 15 horsepower to 300 horsepower have been installed for water transmission. The pipeline network also passes through Par river in Valsad, one of the rivers that was to be interlinked under the Par Tapi Narmada (PTN) project. The water will be sourced from Madhuban dam in Dadra and Nagar Haveli union territory.

The PM will also inaugurate 339 development projects worth Rs 115 crore in Dangs district, including a government Higher Secondary School, a road built under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak yojana, and a new building of the District panchayat bhavan in Ahwa.

Meet to reach out to tribals

The BJP is aggressively reaching out to tribals in Gujarat after their massive protests against the PTN project in February-March.

PM Modi’s Samrasta Sammelan is at Khudvel village, where he is expected to address tribals from the five South Gujarat districts of Surat, Tapi, Navsari, Valsad, and Dang, the region that saw the protests.

The Par Tapi Narmada river link project would have led to these tribals getting displaced. According to a report by the National Water Development Agency (NWDA), about 6,065 hectares of land would have been been submerged due to the proposed reservoirs. A total of 61 villages and over 2500 families would have been affected.

The project was meant to divert excess water from the three rivers, which flows into the sea in the monsoon, to Saurashtra and Kutch for irrigation.

However, the tribals launched a series of projects under the leadership of Congress MLA from Vansda, Anant Patel. Patel started a movement in February, holding group meetings and 11 massive rallies. This culminated in a meeting in Gandhinagar, addressed by senior Congress leaders.

Post this, in March, the BJP first announced the project had been put on hold, and later said it was scrapped. However, the tribals have demanded a white paper in place of the verbal announcement.

Congress meet in same area cancelled

A meeting by Congress leader and MP Rahul Gandhi, planned in Vansda on June 12, has been cancelled, on account of his mother and Congress president Sonia Gandhi and his sister and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra falling ill.

The tribal vote

There are 11 Assembly seats in South Gujarat reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST), out of which seven are with BJP and four with Congress. Amid the PTN project row, tribal leaders from the region made representations to state BJP president C R Paatil, telling him angry voters are moving away from the BJP.

On March 28, Chief minister Bhupendra Patel and Paatil held a meeting at Gandhinagar with the tribal leaders, announcing the state would not give consent to the project. Later, Paatil and other tribal leaders, including state tribal minister Naresh Patel, met Union Home minister Amit Shah and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman, explaining their concerns.

On May 22, CM Patel and Paatil addressed a press conference in Surat, announcing the project had been scrapped. The same evening, Paatil addressed Adijati Utsav at Vansda in Navsari, saying the project would not go ahead. However, sources said that despite continuous efforts by the state BJP machinery, the tribals are not satisfied and want a white paper.

Preparations at the venue

At the Adijati Utsav in Vansda, Paatil had announced that over 4 lakh people, majority of them tribals, would attend PM Modi’s address at Khudvel. The state BJP had given targets to its leaders to bring in 1.40 lakh people each from Surat, Tapi , Navsari, and Valsad district units and 20,000 from Dangs.

Navsari district BJP president Bhuralal Shah said, “State transport buses, private school buses, private luxuries, trucks and tempos will be used to bring public to the venue.”

Sources said that seven domes have been erected for around 3 lakh people, while separate pandals have been put up for the rest. The dome structures will have fans and sprinklers. As many as 70 LED screens have been fixed at different locations for the public.