If manufacturing is India’s (supposed) next big hope, then the Delhi–Mumbai Industrial Corridor is its rousing, inspirational, crowd-pleasing theme song. With the stated goal of making it a ‘global manufacturing and trading hub’, the project is meant to showcase India’s ability in planned urbanisation and world-class manufacturing and services. DMIC is easily the largest infrastructure project to be undertaken in India – at a cost of $100 billion and spanning the states of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra, it aims to create infrastructure of the kind rarely seen in India, set up world-class factories and logistics centres, and establish 24 smart cities (seven in the first phase alone) with cutting-edge technology, connectivity across rail, road, port and air, and uninterrupted power. Also on the agenda are skill development of the local populace and generation of three million job opportunities (two million in the manufacturing/processing sectors). The dedicated freight corridor (DFC) covering a length of nearly 1,500 km will support high-speed train connectivity and will run almost parallel to the Delhi–Mumbai Golden Quadrilateral National Highway. Initially, seven nodes (investment regions, IR, and industrial areas IA) in the DMIC states have been taken up for development. In total, 24 such nodes are envisaged which are meant to facilitate business generation with high-quality infrastructure. The corridor starts at Tughlakabad and (now infamous) Dadri in Delhi NCR and ends at Jawaharlal Nehru Port at Mumbai. The project defines an investment region as a specifically delineated industrial region with a minimum area of around 200 square kilometres; an industrial area is for the establishment of manufacturing facilities for domestic and export-led production with a minimum area of around 100 square kilometres. Some of the projects include the Dholera investment region in Gujarat, a model solar power project in Neemrana, Rajasthan, and integrated industrial townships in Greater Noida and Vikram Udyogpuri (Madhya Pradesh). Planned urbanisation is a major focus area of the project – for reference, India’s urban population is expected to rise to 36 per cent in 2026, roughly translating into 590 million (greater than the current combined population of the United States and Indonesia). Note that the dedicated freight corridor is being constructed and will be operated by Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL), an SPV that is controlled by the railways ministry. Officially launched in 2006 by the erstwhile UPA government, the stake in DMIC Development Corporation (DMICDC) – the implementation agency – is divided amongst the Indian government (49 per cent), Japan Bank for International Cooperation (26 per cent), and government financial institutions (the remainder). The government of Japan, aside from providing state-of-the-art technology and expertise to the project, has also pledged financial support to the extent of $4.5 billion in the first phase at a nominal rate of 0.1 per cent – this, together with the $4.5 billion to be provided by the Indian government, will cover for basic infrastructure such as roads, water pipelines, sewage lines, and waste collection. The 90 per cent of the remaining funds is slated to come from private players, ostensibly due to the increased value of the land post the initial development of the infrastructure – a significantly mammoth task and not without a few sceptics. Understandably, the affected states are already jousting for potential investors. For instance, the Greater Noida website encourages investors to put their money in the UP region of DMIC touting its ‘locational advantages’, ‘top-class facilities’, and ‘attractive policies and projects’, among other such priceless qualities. The exact mechanism of these projections is debatable, information about this mammoth project is scarce, and the desirability and feasibility of this project hasn’t been put to even a farcical public debate. As succinctly articulated by this observer, ‘(DMIC) is also a great example of a project where a study of facts, numbers, statistics and projections are increasingly futile as they are constantly shifting.’ Still, the most amusing aspect of the project is that DMICDC operates out of a hotel room in Hotel Ashok in New Delhi, which seems incongruous with everything that this project stands for – size and bombast. But one can still enjoy this uplifting video created by them. - See more at: http://causebecause.com/news-detail.php?NewsID=766#sthash.m6fqlrC1.dpuf |
DMIC bringing land grab, loss of livelihood, unemployment, and larger resource grab from commons. Growing inequality and distress as per the corporate agenda. Blooming threat to democratic rights of people in states covered by DMIC.
| Name of conflict: | Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, India |
| Country: | India |
| Type of conflict. 1st level: | Infrastructure and Built Environment |
| Type of conflict. 2nd level: | Coal extraction and processing Urban development conflicts Large-scale solar plants Water access rights and entitlements Wetlands and coastal zone management Ports and airport projects Deforestation Landfills, toxic waste treatment, uncontrolled dump sites Other industries Transport infrastructure networks (roads, railways, hydroways, canals and pipelines) Thermal power plants Oil and gas refining Land acquisition conflicts Interbasin water transfers/transboundary water conflicts Pollution related to transport (spills, dust, emissions) Dams and water distribution conflicts Building materials extraction (quarries, sand, gravel) |
| Specific commodities: | Land Sand, gravel Biological resources Domestic municipal waste Carbon offsets Ecosystem Services Live Animals Electricity Manufactured Products Cement Natural Gas Chemical products E-waste Coal Water Industrial waste Forest, Public services etc |
| Project details | DELHI – MUMBAI INDUSTRIAL CORRIDOR (DMIC) |
| Level of Investment for the conflictive project | More than 100,000,000,000.00 |
| Type of population | Unknown |
| Affected Population: | Over 180 Million |
| Start of the conflict: | 01/01/2010 |
| Company names or state enterprises: | Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (DMICDC) from India - Planning and Implementation |
| Relevant government actors: | Ministry of Industries, Ministry of Urban Development, NITI Ayog, Several State Governments, Housing and Urban Development Corporation Limited (HUDCO), India Infrastructure Finance Corporation Limited (IIFCL), Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) |
| International and Finance Institutions | Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) from Japan Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) from Japan |
| Environmental justice organizations (and other supporters) and their websites, if available: | Corridor Virodhi Sangharsh Abhiyan, National Alliance of Peoples' Movements, Narmada Bachao Andolan, Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti, Sarvahara Jan Andolan, ICAN, INSAF, Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan, Gujarat Khedut Samaj, Jagatikaran Virodhi Kruti Samiti, Gujarat Sarvodya Mandal, Kisan Sangharsh Samiti, Jan Sangharsh Vahini |
| Intensity | HIGH (widespread, mass mobilization, violence, arrests, etc...) |
| Reaction stage | PREVENTIVE resistance (precautionary phase) |
| Groups mobilizing: | Farmers Indigenous groups or traditional communities Industrial workers Informal workers Landless peasants Social movements Trade unions Ethnically/racially discriminated groups Local scientists/professionals Project affected communities Fisher people |
| Forms of mobilization: | Blockades Creation of alternative reports/knowledge Development of a network/collective action Lawsuits, court cases, judicial activism Media based activism/alternative media Objections to the EIA Public campaigns Referendum other local consultations Street protest/marches Refusal of compensation |
| Environmental Impacts | Visible: Biodiversity loss (wildlife, agro-diversity), Food insecurity (crop damage), Loss of landscape/aesthetic degradation, Soil erosion, Waste overflow, Deforestation and loss of vegetation cover, Surface water pollution / Decreasing water (physico-chemical, biological) quality, Groundwater pollution or depletion, Floods (river, coastal, mudflow), Reduced ecological / hydrological connectivity Potential: Global warming, Noise pollution, Soil contamination, Air pollution, Large-scale disturbance of hydro and geological systems |
| Health Impacts | Visible: Accidents, Mental problems including stress, depression and suicide Potential: Occupational disease and accidents, Exposure to unknown or uncertain complex risks (radiation, etc…), Other environmental related diseases |
| Socio-economical Impacts | Visible: Loss of traditional knowledge/practices/cultures, Militarization and increased police presence, Displacement, Lack of work security, labour absenteeism, firings, unemployment, Loss of livelihood, Violations of human rights, Land dispossession, Loss of landscape/sense of place, Increase in Corruption/Co-optation of different actors Potential: Specific impacts on women |
| Other socio-economic impacts | Rise in economic inequality, Caste conflict |
| Project Status | Under construction |
| Conflict outcome / response: | Migration/displacement Repression Violent targeting of activists Due to agitations, the status of outcomes are different at different places. At some places its put on a hold, in others work is continuing and so on. |
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| Related media links to videos, campaigns, social network |
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| Other documents |
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| Contributor: | Himshi Singh ([email protected]), National Alliance of Peoples' Movements |
| Last update | 18/08/2019 |
| Conflict ID: | 2483 |