India's River Linking Project Leaves Indigenous Women Behind
· news
The Invisible Victims of India’s River Linking Project
In the rolling hills of central India, where the Barna River flows through the Panna Tiger Reserve, hundreds of women are protesting their displacement and exclusion from compensation. Fifty-year-old Gyan Rani Gond, a member of the Gond tribe and one of the oldest Indigenous communities in the region, has joined them. Her story is one of frustration and despair.
The Daudhan Dam, at the heart of India’s ambitious river-linking project, will submerge 10 settlements in Panna Tiger Reserve alone, displacing 7,000 families. The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act (LARR), 2013, guarantees fair compensation for every adult, regardless of gender. However, women without land titles or whose names don’t appear on government lists are systematically excluded from receiving fair compensation.
Gyan Rani’s case is not unique. Decades of fighting for their rights have left India’s Indigenous communities at the periphery of development projects that promise much but deliver little. The Ken-Betwa project, which began in 2010, is a prime example of this disconnect between policy intent and reality. As of April 2025, no affected family had been fully rehabilitated, according to a Right to Information request filed by the Press Trust of India.
The government claims that since July 2026, all eligible families in Panna and Chhatarpur districts have received compensation and rehabilitation benefits. However, the protests sparked by Gyan Rani and her fellow women suggest otherwise. The prime minister’s office is only now seeking a report from the state government on the status of these projects.
The implications of this story are far-reaching. If India continues to interpret its land acquisition law in such a narrow, exclusionary way, it risks perpetuating the cycle of displacement and marginalization for generations to come. The women of Kupi village have become the invisible victims of development – their struggles silenced by the very policies that were meant to empower them.
The government must take concrete steps to ensure that women like Gyan Rani receive fair compensation, land titles, and access to resources that can help them rebuild their lives. This is not just a matter of justice; it’s essential for creating policies that truly benefit all Indians – not just those with land titles or connections to power.
The protests of Gyan Rani and her fellow women are a wake-up call, a reminder that development must be inclusive, not exclusive. The question now is: will India heed this warning?
Reader Views
- ADAnalyst D. Park · policy analyst
The Ken-Betwa project's dismal track record on displacement and compensation is not surprising given India's history of ignoring Indigenous voices in development decisions. What's equally concerning is the reliance on outdated government lists that systematically exclude women from land titles or benefits. To truly address this issue, policymakers must adopt a more nuanced approach to land ownership and recognition that acknowledges traditional tenure systems used by Indigenous communities.
- CMColumnist M. Reid · opinion columnist
The government's river linking project is once again prioritizing engineering over equity. What's striking about this story is how often development initiatives in India cite the empowerment of marginalized communities as a key justification for their policies. Yet, when it comes to actual implementation, these benefits rarely trickle down. It's high time we stopped romanticizing the impact of these projects and instead focused on ensuring that women like Gyan Rani are not left behind by the very development they've been promised.
- RJReporter J. Avery · staff reporter
The Indian government's River Linking Project promises to modernize and irrigate vast regions, but at what cost? The women of Panna Tiger Reserve are bearing the brunt of this development, systematically excluded from compensation due to outdated laws and bureaucratic inefficiencies. What's striking is the absence of meaningful consultation with indigenous communities in project planning. This lack of participation has led to a disconnect between government claims and on-the-ground realities, leaving one to wonder: can India truly reap the benefits of its grand infrastructure plans while neglecting the rights of those most affected?