Hundreds of villagers affected by the Morbe Dam project entered the dam premises in Khalapur on Thursday afternoon, attempting to halt the water supply to Navi Mumbai. This action is part of a protest that has been ongoing for the past ten days, as the villagers seek to address their long-standing demands.
Morbe Dam, located in Khalapur Taluka in Raigad district, supplies water to the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) and a few CIDCO nodes. The dam is owned by NMMC. Despite police presence, villagers from eight revenue villages and seven tribal wadas forcefully entered the dam premises and ransacked the office. They also attempted to halt the water supply.
According to the villagers, the dam was constructed on their lands without adequate compensation. Promises of jobs and water supply to all villages were also unmet. Villagers had been on a chain hunger strike for the past nine days. When their hunger strike did not garner attention from the administration, they decided to enter the dam premises and stop the water supply. They also threatened to take Jal Samadhi (water burial) if their demands were not met.
An NMMC official explained that the Maharashtra Jal Pradhikaran (MJP) started work on the dam in 1990. However, due to lack of funds, the project was halted. Later, MJP approached the state government to see if any corporation was willing to buy the dam. After nearby corporations declined, NMMC decided to acquire the dam to solve the ever-growing problems of water scarcity, rising water costs, and dependency on external water supply agencies.
NMMC made the final payment in 2010, securing ownership of the dam. However, the civic body denied providing permanent jobs to the affected villagers, as the agreement was originally between MJP and the villagers. According to the villagers, the issue has persisted for around 32 years.