July 18, 2019: 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 peopleā€™s movements and civil society organisations over the past years, and a complaint to its accountability mechanism, Inspection Panel, by the affected communities.

ā€œWe 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 peopleā€ said Medha Patkar, senior activist of Narmada Bachao Andolan and National Alliance of Peopleā€™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 graveĀ  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 withĀ  concerns of losing fertile farmlands and livelihoods.

Mallela Sheshagiri Rao from the Capital Region Farmers Federation said, ā€œWith 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 Bankā€™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.ā€

Another co-financier of the project Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), projected themselves as the Post-Paris Bank, signalling 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 Bankā€™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.

ā€œFor a change, good sense has prevailed upon the Bank to withdraw from the disastrous programme.Ā  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,ā€ said Sreedhar R, Chair, International Committee, NGO Forum on ADB and Director, Environics Trust.

Tani Alex of Centre for Financial Accountability said, ā€œThis is another instance of peopleā€™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.ā€

WGonIFIs demand the State government should:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Prosecute brokers, real estate agents and other persons who purchased or facilitated the purchase of assigned lands after the announcement of Capital Region.
  5. 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 the World Bankā€™s safeguard policies. This complaint was under process and the Board of the Bank was waiting for the recommendation on the eligibility of investigation from the Inspection Panel.

For more information:Ā Ā Encroachment of Nature, People and Livelihoods: A Case of the Abusive, Greedy and Failing Amaravati Capital City (2014-2019)

More information about the project is available here.

Contact details:

  1. Gutta Rohit
    Human Rights Forum, Andhra Pradesh
    gutta.rohithbunny@gmail.com
    +91 99852 50777
  2. Meera Sanghamitra
    National Convenor, National Alliance of Peopleā€™s Movements
    +91 73374 78993
    reachmeeranow@gmail.com
  3. Tani Alex
    Researcher, Centre for Financial Accountability
    +91 96500 15701
    tani@cenfa.org

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