MUMBAI: The Mulshi dam satyagraha may have ended over a century ago, but it lives on in the repercussions for Mulshi taluka’s 52 villages that were sacrificed to it. A book of 70 essays commemorating the past and present struggle through essays, titled ‘Sahyadri Che Ashru’, was released early this year at the All Maharashtra Mulshi Parishad, ending in the poem ‘Thamb’ with the lines above.
“It is a matter of deep pain that the 52 villages that were the collateral damage for the Mulshi dam to supply power to Mumbai still have not received their basic land rights,” said editor Anil Pawar. “They have no future left.”
India’s first anti-dam movement, the satyagraha began on April 16, 1921. A few years prior, in 1917, Tata Power had begun acquiring the land where the Mula and Nila rivers meet for the dam which would submerge the 52 villages. Pune-based journalist Vinayak Bhuskute spearheaded the movement.
“The satyagraha had a successful start,” said Pawar. “The villagers and other people from Maharashtra gathered by the dam and captured it, succeeding in stopping the work for a few months. As the movement grew, it gained the support of many from Pune and Mumbai, including Pandurang Mahadev Bapat who was later given the title Senapati Bapat for his role.” Pawar dug out archival writing for the book by Bhuskute and Senapati Bapat, a lot of it written during their years in prison.
By 1924, the spate of imprisonments, the use of the Land Acquisition Act, and some compensation had splintered the movement. Tata acquired 15,000 acres of land across the 52 villages, giving over ₹31 lakh in compensation, but this sum, said Pawar, went mainly to the few landowners and moneylenders. After the dam began functioning in 1927, around 9,000 acres of the land were submerged.
As the satyagraha centenary approached in 2021, Pawar and his troop went around the relocated villages, relegated largely to the dam’s periphery and the hills where agriculture is not a viable option. “Of the 17 collective gram panchayats that are present today, 14 do not have land rights, as the land was given to Tata,” he said. “Residents of the majority of the 52 affected villages might own their homes but the land is not in their name.”
What this means is that any changes the villagers want to make to their homes must go through Tata, permissions that are virtually impossible to get. In addition, they do not get the 22 basic services, including roads, lighting and electricity, that the government is supposed to provide, since living on private land renders them beyond the pale. They are similarly banned from fishing in the reservoir, using the local forest produce or starting eco-tourism initiatives since they all belong to Tata.
“There are very few employment opportunities in the area,” said Pawar. “The schools, medical facilities and roads that Tata was supposed to provide have not materialised. Even the farmers who have land rights have had little choice but to sell off their land, with hotels and resorts booming there.”
The book features 12 essays from the generations of ousted villagers. While Part 3 focuses on rehabilitation policies and the condition of the oustees, the fifth section features writings by those living in the shadow of 10 other dams in Maharashtra, with a closing essay by Pawar on 100 years of the satyagraha. Two poems mark the end.
In September last year, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar had instructed Tata Power to hand over the unused land for basic infrastructure and public utilities. “But this was just an announcement,” said Pawar. “Just a few days ago, an MLA spoke in the Vidhan Sabha of the water demands of Pimpri-Chinchwad from the dam. Everyone comes before the affected people.”