At the outset we congratulate you for leading some progressive changes in the Water Resources Department of the State. These include decisions about continuing only with those dam projects which are more than 75% complete[1], appointment of independent people with a clean image like Shri. H.T. Mendhegiri as CADA Chief Secretary, changing norms of Economic Survey Report[2], stating that only hoarding water will not be counted towards increase in irrigation potential, etc. Continue reading “Water Smart Mumbai is possible without river links and big dams! Open Letter to CM Devendra Fadnavis” →

Godavari · Interlinking of RIvers · Krishna River · Telangana

Pranahita-Chevella Project: Gargantuan Project with Gargantuan Violations

January 10, 2015January 16, 2015 SANDRP8 Comments

Can you imagine a project-not any project, perhaps India’s largest irrigation project till date- going on for years without most statutory clearances? Can you imagine a project on which Rs 7000 Crores[1] have been spent already but its Dam height (FRL – Full Reservoir Level) is yet undecided? Can you imagine a project whose canal works are ongoing in full swing, without having any idea of the submergence? Can you imagine a Public Hearing where the Project Engineer says that the meeting is only about compensation not about environmental impacts or fundamental questions? Can you imagine a state which is set to lose thousands of hectares of rich forests, protected areas, villages for a project of a different state, but is happy to oblige? Can you imagine a Ministry which turns a stony Nelson’s Eye to a project continuing right under its nose without Environmental Clearance, Wildlife Clearance or Forest Clearance?

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Interlinking of RIvers

Interlinking ‘Conflicts’: Maharashtra se Gujarat tak

January 8, 2015January 16, 2015 SANDRPLeave a comment

Above: A girl from the Par Basin. With drinking water problems plaguing her village and the impending diversion project either from Gujarat or Maharashtra, her hardships will only increase. Photo: Parineeta Dandekar

Even as the second meeting of the Special Committee for Interlinking of Rivers was held on the 6^th January 2015[i], the Union Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Sushri Uma Bharti sought “co-operation of various States in this project” and said that “States can discuss their apprehensions if any, in the next meeting of the committee.” She informed the meeting that on 07 January 2015, she will meet Chief Minister of Maharashtra Shri. Devendra Fadnavis to discuss Damanganga-Pinjal and Par-Tapi-Narmada link projects.

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Ministry of Environment and Forests

The High Level Committee Report on Environmental Laws: A Recipe for Climate Disaster and Silencing People’s Voice

January 8, 2015January 18, 2015 SANDRP1 Comment

Above: 440 MW Vishnuprayag HEP post 2013 disaster in Uttarakhand. The project, its operation and location added significantly to disaster in the downstream. Photo: Matu JanSangathan

Post by- Ritwick Dutta, Lawyers Initiative For Forest and Environment, Debi Goenka, Conservation Action Trust, Manoj Mishra, Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan & Himanshu Thakkar , South Asian Network for Dams, Rivers & People

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Ganga

Is there any hope for Ganga from IIT Consorium Plan?

January 7, 2015January 16, 2015 SANDRP1 Comment

Guest Blog by: Chicu Lokgariwar (chicu.l@gmail.com)

Prime Minister Modi on Ganga Banks at Varanasi (NDTV photo)

We have a Prime Minister who, his colleagues claim, is the new Bhagirath. And possibly for the first time, Prime Minister himself called a meeting of ministers and officials on Ganga on January 6, 2015[1]. That possibly seems to indicate that Ganga is government priority. However, their dependence on IIT Consortium to deliver a plan for this does seem to hold much hope for the River.

Continue reading “Is there any hope for Ganga from IIT Consorium Plan?” →