Shivraj Singh Chouhan making 5 sadhus 'ministers' shows Narmada is not a priority for him
God, they say, is on the side of those who are on the path of righteousness. The same can't, however, be said of godmen. Ordinary citizens may find this problematic, but not our politicians. The latest beneficiary of this growing godmen-politician camaraderie is Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who has managed to checkmate a bid to expose alleged corruption in the Narmada conservation campaign by rewarding the very individuals who threatened to expose him.
In a move that has politics written all over it, Chouhan has granted minister of state status to five sadhus - Computer Baba, Narmadanand Maharaj, Hariharanand Maharaj, Bhayyu Maharaj and Pandit Yogendra Mahant - in a year the state will be going to the polls.
The only murky bit in this story is that two of these sadhus - Computer Baba (aka Swami Namdev Tyagi) and Yogendra Mahant - had threatened to take out a rath yatra against "Narmada plantation scam" from April 1 to May 15.
5 #Godmen accorded status of minister of state by @ChouhanShivraj ! Two of them planned to carry out #Narmada Ghotala Rath Yatra which is now obviously cancelled ! @News18India @CNNnews18 @priyankac19 @raydeep pic.twitter.com/8mPp2hpWBW
— Manoj Sharma (@manojsharmabpl) April 4, 2018
Interestingly, on March 31, five religious leaders, including the allegation makers, were appointed to a committee set up for the conservation of the Narmada river. Computer Baba has clarified that since the government has listened to their demands, there is no need for the yatra. This roughly translates to: "Since the government has given us MoS status, we will not expose the corruption that we alleged existed in the plantation drive."
We thank the govt on behalf of the 'sadhu' community for showing trust in us, we will try our best to work for welfare of the society: Computer Baba, on being granted Minister of State rank by #MadhyaPradesh govt. pic.twitter.com/wfKXmaroGL
— ANI (@ANI) April 4, 2018
Now since the matter has religious undertones, criticising it would tantamount to an attack on Hindu dharma. To protect himself from any attack on his governance, chief minister Chouhan has used religion as a shield, and he has used it well.
Thanking the MP government, Computer Baba, who created ripples in 2013 when he asked Kumbh Mela authorities to allow him to arrive in a helicopter and take a dip in the river, said this would help serve the cause of river conservation better. "Service charges apply" is the unstated truth in the development.
All of us in this country have contributed to polluting our rivers. Therefore, all efforts at river cleaning and conservation require active people's participation. Religious and spiritual leaders have a huge following among people, involving them in river cleaning efforts is thus a pragmatic approach.
What is not pragmatic is to assume that rivers are sacred to Hindus alone and thus appeals should be made to include only Hindu saints in such bids. But then "inclusiveness" was a poll promise and we would be naive to expect poll promises to be fulfilled. So we are not asking why only babas, why not maulvis too.
What is at stake
Honestly, this granting of perks would not have been problematic if it didn't threaten the cause of river conservation so acutely.
Narmada is the largest river flowing westward and rises near Amarkantak range of mountains in Madhya Pradesh. It is the fifth largest river in the country and the largest in Gujarat. It traverses Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat and meets the Gulf of Cambay. The total length of the river from source to sea is 1,312km.
It is the lifeline of central Madhya Pradesh, and it also flows through 96 of the 230 Assembly constituencies.
The river captured the attention of the nation when it became the centre of a decades-long struggle to stop the raising of the Sardar Sarovar Dam.
The Central Pollution Control Board recently found that at least in three stretches of the Narmada, water quality is not even adequate for bathing.
A 2016 study that analysed water samples from four different points of the river in two seasons - dry and wet in 2014-15 - found that the water ecology was not conducive to sustain aquatic life or to be used for domestic purposes.
The BJP government has been in power in the state since 2003. Chouhan, who took over as chief minister in 2005, is in his third term in the role. He can't shift the blame for Narmada's continuing problems. The only thing he can do is trade ministerial berths for political allegiance so he is doing it.
The government moved to curb illegal mining on the Narmada riverbed as late as 2017, a full 14 years after coming to power in the state, following growing criticism over the issue. The mining, protected by men wielding AK-47 assault rifles, went on brazenly right under the nose of the government.
Apart from inflicting financial loss worth crores of rupees on the exchequer, the mafia threatened the flow of the river by constructing makeshift roads on the bed and using earth movers to dig sand that was used mostly for the booming housing sector. While it is assessed that this corruption cost the state government Rs 1,000 crore in revenue annually, the harm it caused to the river and the riverbed is difficult to assess.
The state government launched a hugely hyped plantation drive along the river. As many as seven crore saplings were reportedly planted on both sides of Narmada during the "Narmada Seva Yatra" in a bid to create the world record of maximum plantation in 12 hours. Two of the five babas alleged corruption in the drive. They have been rewarded and the rest is history.