J&K: Ratle Project Chief Accuses BJP MLA Shagun Parihar of Sabotage in Kishtwar Hydropower Project

Srinagar: A senior official of the Ratle hydropower project in Kishtwar district of Jammu on Saturday (13 December) alleged that a local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator was forcing the management to employ workers and contractors on political and religious grounds.

Harpal Singh, joint chief operation officer of the Ratle project, which is being constructed by the Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL), accused Shagun Parihar, the BJP’s Kishtwar legislator, of forcing the company to adopt unfair hiring practices for political gains.

“In a democratic country, there is no place for such (arm twisting) tactics,” Singh said in a video message which circulated on social media on Saturday.

“We are a people of secular character. We can’t go against one political party or work with another political party. We should be kept out of this. If we don’t work in the right atmosphere, it will compromise the safety and quality of the dam”.

Parihar, 29, who is the youngest legislator in J&K courted controversy in October when she referred to the “Hindu population” of her constituency as “Rashtravadi Log” (nationalist people) during a speech in the assembly, prompting the Speaker to censor her.

She could not be reached for comment.

Singh said that the situation turned volatile at the project site on December 4 when “some local politicians and their workers” allegedly threatened the MEIL officers and labourers.

In a letter to deputy commissioner Kishtwar, Singh alleged that the human resources head of the company was “brutally assaulted” near Joshana village at around 7 pm on December 4, terming the attack as a “clear, deliberate and targeted act of violence”.

“This violent aggression has caused physical injuries, severe emotional distress, and has raised profound concerns regarding the safety and security of MEIL personnel working in the Ratle Project vicinity,” the letter, a copy of which is with The Wire, states, naming Manjeet, Sunil, Nitin, Pawan and Aditya, all residents of Joshana as the perpetrators.

It was not clear whether the Kishtwar police have registered any case in connection with the assault. The Wire has reached out to senior superintendent of police (Kishtwar) Naresh Singh for comment. This story will be updated when any response is received.

Without taking names, Singh said that the company has been forced to fulfil the “personal agendas” of the local BJP leaders.

The saffron party has four out of six MLAs in Doda and Kishtwar districts of Chenab valley, including the Leader of Opposition in J&K assembly Sunil Sharma and Shakti Raj Parihar, who represents the Doda (West) constituency.

“I told her that I can’t employ more people but if there are poor or handicapped people, widows and other disadvantaged people, the company can arrange some financial incentives for them for the next five to six years,” Singh said, recalling his conversation with Parihar, the Kishtwar MLA.

Singh said that 280 families were displaced by the Ratle project and the contract signed by the MEIL puts the onus of the employment of displaced people on the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation which is executing the project in a joint venture with the J&K government.

“We adjusted all of them in the project. The company has hired 1,434 employees out of which 960 are from Kishtwar alone while 220 are from the Doda district besides others. Most of them are incompetent who were employed after they blackmailed us by repeatedly stopping the work, resorting to violence and filing false court cases,” he claimed.

Earlier this week, the newly-elected Rajya Sabha member and senior National Conference leader Sajjad Ahmad Kichloo, who also hails from Kishtwar, demanded an inquiry into the alleged malpractices in the hiring process of private companies involved in building power projects in the hilly district.

Singh said that the MEIL had approached the regional labour commissioner in Jammu in September, after which 200 employees were retrenched following "due process of law”.

“Our existing workers and officers are being warned and threatened. It is undemocratic. If we are not allowed to work, we may have to leave the project. I appeal to locals not to waste their time in making impossible demands and work for strengthening the peace and harmony and the atmosphere of Hindu-Muslim brotherhood prevailing in the area,” he said.

The 850-MW run-of-the-river Ratle project, which has been dubbed as a project of national importance, is among four hydropower projects which have been put on fast-track by the BJP-led Union government to showcase the change in Jammu and Kashmir in the post-2019 era.

However, climate scientists, geologists and environment activists have warned that these projects, coming up in the heart of the Kashmir Himalayas, could turn into a catastrophe for the human population living downstream in coming years.

Besides the Ratle project, the Union government has also fast-tracked Pakal Dul (1000 MW), Kiru (624 MW) and Kwar (540 MW) hydropower projects, all of which are in Kishtwar district.

Some of the prominent names in the construction business including MEIL, Larsen and Toubro, Patel Engineering Limited and others are involved in building the projects.

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