Behind Polavaram: Hidden Labour Exploitation
Arka Rajpandit
UNDER the heavily fortified Polavaram Multi-Purpose Irrigation Project, a clandestine operation is underway, marked by widespread and unprecedented violations of labour laws. The site, transformed into a virtual fortress, is a prohibited zone for any form of trade union activity. Behind the imposing security presence and the refusal of entry to any trade union, lies a deliberate strategy to conceal the brutal exploitation of workers and to suppress any organised efforts to demand fair treatment and adherence to basic labour rights. The heavy guarding, therefore, serves not only as a security measure but also as a shield for unchecked exploitation, ensuring that the rampant abuses within the project remain hidden from external scrutiny and accountability.
In the third week of June, a delegation from the Construction Workers Federation of India (CWFI), comprising national, state, and district leadership, visited the Polavaram Project. Despite significant hindrance from security forces, we successfully gained entry to the project sites and interacted with numerous workers. Our objective was to study and understand the nature of exploitation and gross violations of labour rights, establish direct contact with the workforce, organise them, and plan interventions.
Even with prior notification to local police administrations, the CWFI representatives faced immediate obstruction at the main gate, which falls under Eluru district's jurisdiction. Police forces stationed at the checkpoint attempted to restrict our entry, subjecting our vehicle to an exhaustive search. Every conceivable space was meticulously scrutinised. Even personal items were thoroughly inspected! The police justified this intense scrutiny by citing the area's history as a Maoist hotbed, asserting that they could not risk any potential threat. This rationale extended to mainstream political forces and trade unions, who, according to the police, are not welcome. Within the vast project area, modern CCTV cameras and drones are constantly deployed to monitor worker movements, further contributing to an environment where workers are reportedly hesitant to openly communicate with anyone.
The multipurpose Polavaram Project's main purpose is to create massive irrigation potential, benefiting approximately 4.36 lakh hectares of agricultural land in several districts of Andhra Pradesh, thereby boosting productivity and farmer livelihoods. Despite its 2014 ‘National Project’ status, the Polavaram Project is deeply controversial. The main issue is the massive displacement of over 1.5 lakh people, primarily tribal communities like KondaReddis and Koyas, from up to 276 villages across Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh. Locals point to inadequate and delayed rehabilitation, citing insufficient compensation, poorly equipped resettlement colonies, loss of traditional livelihoods, and exclusion from benefits. They also claim Forest Rights Act violations. Beyond local impacts, the project has caused inter-state disputes. Odisha and Chhattisgarh object to the dam's backwater effect, fearing submergence and displacement within their territories, and raising environmental assessment concerns. Telangana similarly objects to the Polavaram-Banakacherla link project, citing violations of water-sharing agreements and potential impacts on flood patterns. These disputes have resulted in Supreme Court suits from all three states and periodic political protests demanding construction halts.
Even after several years, the rehabilitation process continues to be significantly slow. According to media reports, of the 38,060 Project Displaced Families (PDFs), 21,441 (56.34 per cent) have been rehabilitated to date. The rehabilitation plan aims to complete 75 colonies, with Phase 1A set for completion by September 2025 and Phase 1B by December 2026, targeting full resettlement of all PDFs by 2027.
CORPORATE-POLITICAL QUID PRO QUO
The narrative surrounding the Polavaram Project's contractors exposes a deeply entrenched nexus between corporate power and political influence, a stark deviation from any pretense of meritocracy. Despite the project's ‘National Project’ designation, implying unbiased oversight, the ground reality lays bare a system where political shifts directly dictate the custodians of immensely profitable public contracts – a quintessential quid pro quo.
The 2019 victory of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) in Andhra Pradesh directly triggered the abrupt removal of Navayuga Engineering Company as the primary Polavaram contractor, immediately ushering in Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL). This unceremonious handover, following a mere change in state leadership, casts a long shadow, especially when considering the significant financial leverage both Navayuga and MEIL wielded through electoral bonds, contributing lavishly to a spectrum of political entities including the BJP, TDP, and YSRCP. The pattern is chillingly clear: substantial donations to the ruling dispensation, or its allies, appear to serve as a direct conduit to securing and maintaining colossal government contracts.
This corporate-political quid pro quo, however, bore a devastating human cost. The replacement of Navayuga by MEIL precipitated the large-scale, brutal retrenchment of thousands of workers. These individuals, many with years of dedicated service, were instantly stripped of their livelihoods due to the arbitrary change in labour contractors aligned with the new principal player. The cruelty was compounded by the fact that this mass termination often occurred without the provision of legally mandated benefits like severance pay or notice periods, plunging an already vulnerable workforce into profound precarity. The prioritisation of political allegiances and corporate largesse over the fundamental rights and well-being of the working class starkly underscores a system of brutal labour exploitation. The high-level political machinations, overtly influenced by corporate donations, translated directly into profound and unjust hardship for those who formed the very foundation of the project's physical execution. Many workers informed us that despite their long-term involvement in the project since 2016, they were abruptly retrenched without benefits after the contractor change. They then had to seek new employment on the same project through labour contractors working for the new main contractor, Megha Engineering, often accepting lower wages.
GROSS LABOUR RIGHTS VIOLATION
Upon entering the Polavaram Project sites, our delegation was repeatedly intercepted by police checkpoints, with officers explicitly advising us against any contact with workers. This heavy-handed obstruction, however, only reinforced our suspicion that significant labour rights violations were being systematically concealed. By circumventing the security forces, we managed to engage with numerous workers, predominantly migrant labourers from states like Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, and West Bengal. Our conversations quickly revealed a shocking reality: many workers, despite years of employment on the project, were entirely unaware of basic labour rights, such as ‘minimum wages,’ ‘overtime, or ‘provident fund.’ Budhan (name changed), a worker from Pakur, Jharkhand, starkly illustrated this exploitation, stating he received a gross wage of only ‘14,000 rupees’ and, when pressed about overtime, confirmed, "there is no overtime payment." This stark admission, coupled with the authorities' blatant attempts to isolate workers from external contact, paints a clear picture of a heavily fortified zone designed to facilitate and hide the brutal exploitation of a vulnerable migrant workforce.
The Polavaram Project's workforce is overwhelmingly composed of 90 per cent migrant workers, who are systematically deprived of statutory minimum wages, overtime pay, and social security benefits like Provident Fund (PF) and Employees' State Insurance (ESI). The main contractor, Megha Engineering, utilises several sub-contractors, including German firms Bauer and Keller, who in turn rely on numerous labour contractors to ensure a continuous supply of cheap labour. The workers have to work 12 hours at a stretch with only 30 minutes of lunch break. It would be noteworthy to mention that, recently the Andhra Pradesh state government, under the TDP-NDA alliance, amended the Factories Act, 1948, as part of ‘ease of doing business’ reforms aimed at attracting investments and boosting industrial growth. These significant changes include extending maximum daily work hours from nine to ten, increasing the quarterly overtime cap from 75 to 144 hours, and lengthening the continuous work period before a break from five to six hours.
Workers at the project, particularly those involved in tunnel construction and the diaphragm wall, face severe safety gear deficiencies. Disturbingly, new recruits are denied contractor-provided meals for their initial six months, forcing them to pay for food out of their meager Rs 12,000 monthly wage. A team of Bengali-speaking workers at the under construction hydel project revealed they are denied even Sundays off, working from 8:00 AM until 1:30 AM, with personal time only permitted on Sunday evenings! Their living conditions are deplorable, with six to eight people crammed into a small space, lacking proper hygiene.
The Chandrababu Naidu-led state government is perpetrating what amounts to medieval labour exploitation. In response, the CWFI has assured Polavaram Project workers of its commitment to building a strong movement against this rampant exploitation, an effort that will actively involve local communities from the project's vicinity.
