World Bank Pulls Out of Amaravati Capital City Project: A Major Victory to People
In a significant move,
which will have repercussions at multiple levels, yesterday the World Bank has
decided to pull out of the $300 million lending to the Amaravati
Capital City project in Andhra Pradesh. Working Group on
International Financial Institutions (WGonIFIs) and the affected communities of
the Amaravati Capital City Project welcome the decision. The Bank arrived at
this decision after a series of representations it received from many people’s
movements and civil society organisations over the past years, and a complaint
to its accountability mechanism, Inspection Panel, by the affected communities.
Contact details:
“We are happy that World Bank took cognisance of
the gross violations involved in the Amaravati Capital City project,
threatening the livelihood of people and fragile environment. After Narmada and
Tata Mundra, this is the third major victory against the World Bank Group. We
are happy that the Inspection Panel which was created due to the struggle of
Narmada Bachao Andolan played its critical role here. While we celebrate this
victory of people, who stood up to the intimidation and terror of the state, we
warn the government and financial institutions not to push their agenda without
the consent of the people” said Medha Patkar, senior activist of Narmada Bachao
Andolan and National Alliance of People's Movements.
Ever since the
Amaravati Capital City Project was conceptualised in 2014, environmental
experts, civil society organisations and grassroots movements have expressed
their anguish over the grave violations of the social and environmental
laws, financial unviability, massive land-grabbing of the fertile land in the
garb of voluntary land-pooling, open threats to the complainants by none other
than the then Chief Minister, along with concerns of losing fertile
farmlands and livelihoods.
Mallela Sheshagiri
Rao, Capital Region Farmers Federation said, "With uncertainty
hovering above us in respect to our land and livelihood, we had suffered
sleepless nights with fear and pain. The struggle has made a mark in our lives
that we can never forget. We hope the larger message of World Bank’s pulling
out of this project will be heard by the state and other financiers and will
address the concerns of people with honesty and commitment.”
Another co-financier
of the project Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), projected
themselves as the Post-Paris Bank, signaling the commitment to tackle climate
emergency, is in focus now. While the project is still listed under
consideration in their official documents, having entered in this project only
as a co-financier and AIIB used World Bank’s policies to adhere to in this
project, as a co-financier, the status of the AIIB now is unclear, with World
Bank pulling out.
"For a change,
good sense has prevailed upon the Bank to withdraw from the disastrous
programme. This also vindicates our stance that despite its rhetoric of a
Post-Paris Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which is a
co-financer in the project, can no longer hide behind the World Bank which it
has been doing as a co-financier," said Sreedhar R, Chair, International
Committee, NGO Forum on ADB and Director, Environics Trust.
Tani Alex of Centre
for Financial Accountability said, “This is another instance of people’s power
forcing institutions like World Bank responsive to their concerns. While the
people affected by the project stood a firm ground, support and solidarity from
a number of other organisations amplified their concerns at appropriate forums.
This is a victory of people and their unnerving demands for accountability and
justice.”
WGonIFIs demand the
State government should:
- Scrap the CRDA Land Pooling Act, CRDA
authorities and notifications passed subsequently, which are inconsistent
with the 2013 Central Act and fully implement the Land
Acquisition and Rehabilitation Act, 2013 in the case of all the affected
people of Amaravati Capital Region. Also, the government should return the
plots that were taken involuntarily from the people.
- Initiate a Judicial enquiry into the
socio-economic damage, land transactions and psychological trauma of
agricultural, coastal, and pastoral labourers, tenants, landless families,
Dalits who have undergone severe pressure and fear, due to the land
acquisition and displacement process.
- Announce a Special Compensation Package
for Dalits and other assigned landholders as their social life has been
damaged to a great extent in the past five years.
- Prosecute brokers, real estate agents and
other persons who purchased or facilitated the purchase of assigned lands
after the announcement of Capital Region.
- Stop attempts to de-list dalit farmers
from records through dubious documentary manipulation and consider all
dalit cultivators in possession of the land as the original owners of the
land for purposes of compensation and R&R under the 2013 Act.
About the Project: After bifurcation of
the erstwhile Indian state of Andhra Pradesh in June 2014, both the new states
of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh decided to share Hyderabad as capital for 10
years. In September 2014, N Chandrababu Naidu, the former Chief Minister of
Andhra Pradesh announced Amaravati as the proposed capital city, to be
developed over many years. The World Bank and AIIB were under
consideration to finance the USD 715 million project.
Even in its risk
assessment, World Bank had assigned this Project category A, signifying the
social and environmental impacts. The project was criticised for building the
city on the floodplains of river Krishna, diverting fertile farmlands and
forests, displacing around 20,000 families, forcefully acquiring lands, and
favouring contractors for the construction of the city. A complaint with the
Inspection panel (Independent accountability mechanism) of the World Bank has
been filed by the affected community in 2017 to investigate the project for
violation of World Bank’s safeguard policies. This complaint was under process
and the Board of the Bank was waiting for the recommendation on eligibility of
investigation from the Inspection Panel.
Contact details:
Gutta Rohit
Human Rights Forum,
Andhra Pradesh
Meera Sanghamitra
National Convenor,
National Alliance of People’s Movements
Tani Alex
Researcher, Centre for
Financial Accountability
