We are encouraged to write to you on this subject, thinking that considering the name, objective of the TSG and also the various statements on the TSG website, you will take prompt and necessary action on this subject.
We are writing to you in the context of Bhima basin in Maharashtra and Krishna river basin in general facing the worst monsoon deficit, crop loss and water scarcity. Millions of farmers are facing crop loss, livelihood loss and worst. Ujani dam on Bhima River is below its live storage level now and in the downstream Telangana, Nagarjunsagar is at zero live storage level and Srisailam has just 9% water in its live storage. Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have said they have no water to save farmers’ crops; they are reserving the available water for drinking water. Continue reading “Open letter to Tata Sustainability Group to stop westward diversion of Bhima basin water by Tata Hydro projects”→
OPEN LETTER TO HON. CHIEF MINISTER OF MAHARASHTRA:
Water Diversion from Krishna basin by Koyna and Tata Dams:
Maharashtra is violating Human Rights, National & State Water Policy
August 18, 2015
Dear Shri Devendra Fadnavis,
As we all know, large parts of Maharashtra, including Marathawada and Western Maharashtra (part of IMD division called Madhya Maharashtra) are in the grip of biggest monsoon deficit in the country with deficits of 48% and 33% respectively at the end of August 17, 2015 as per IMD[1]. Even beyond the state border, North Interior Karnataka has monsoon deficit of 45%, Rayalseema 36% and Telangana 23%.
Farmers in all these regions are in distress, rainfed Kharif crop, the only crop for most of them, may have been jeopardised for almost all of them. Most of the reservoirs have paltry storages, the biggest in the Krishna basin, Ujani in Maharashtra and Nagarjunsagar in Telangana (also catering to parts of Andhra Pradesh) have zero % in live storage, Srisailam has paltry 9%[2]. Millions of farmers and people are facing the prospects of livelihood loss and severe water scarcity.
While the situation is this serious in Krishna River Basin and adjoining basins, in Maharashtra, huge amounts of water is being diverted from the Krishna basin to the water surplus Konkan region which has seen close to 1600 mm rainfall already. This westward diversion of water from the east flowing Krishna-Bhima basin ultimately takes the water to Arabian Sea, while the Krishna basin, which should have the first right over this water, remains plunged in massive water scarcity. Krishna basin is thus being deprived of its water. Continue reading “Open Letter to Chief Minister of Maharashtra: Stop Westwards diversion of water from Krishna basin”→
Marathwada, a region known more for its routine and severe droughts in the recent years, now showing the highest rainfall deficit in the country at 48%[1].
Marathwada (which coincides with Aurangabad Division of Maharashtra) consists of 8 districts in the heart of Maharashtra: Aurangabad, Beed, Latur, Osmanabad, Parbhani, Jalna, Nanded and Hingoli.
The region has a population of about 1.87 Crores and a geographical area of 64.5 Thousand sq. kms. Nearly the entire region, barring parts of Beed, Latur and Osmanabad, falls in Godavari basin. This has historically been a rain shadow region with average rainfall of about 700 mm, but in districts like Beed, it dips down to 600 mm. Apart from Godavari, no major rivers originate or flow through Marathwada except rivers like Purna, Shivna, Dudhna, Velganga, Sindhphana, Bindusara, etc. These are modest rivers, which carry little water as the harsh summer approaches. This is unlike Vidarbha (to the east of Marathwada) which has mighty rivers like Penganga, Wainganga, Wardha etc., or Khandesh and Western Maharashtra to its north and west, which have bigger rivers, denser watersheds and more rainfall.
Since the past 4 years, Marathwada has been facing exceptionally cruel weather. June-September Monsoon, which is the lifeline of most of this rainfed region, has been playing truant. Last year, the region experienced highest rainfall deficit in the past 10 years at -42%. In two districts it was much more than 40%, leading to a severe water crisis.[2] To give you an example, the JJAS (June, July, August, and September) rainfall in Parbhani in 2014 was just 346 mm, barely 4 mm more than rainfall during the horrifying 1971 drought! These two are the lowest rainfall figures for Parbhani since 1902, for more than 113 years!Continue reading “Drought and Marathwada: An Oft repeated Tragedy”→
UTTARAKHAND: National Institute of Disaster Management asks Govt. to make disaster study must for Uttarakhand hydel projects (17 Aug. 2015) This is good to see, it uses almost the exact language some of us having using since the disaster.
SIKKIM:Lanco in talks to sell Sikkim hydro power project (11 Aug. 2015) The Lanco group confirmed that it is in talks with strategic investors to sell its 500 megawatt (MW) hydro-electric power plant in Sikkim, as part of an effort to consolidate its businesses and reduce debt.
ARUNACHAL PRADESH: Neha Sinha (BNHS) in her article titledA bird, a dam and a belief explores the ethical and environmental aspects intertwined with construction of Nyamjang Chhu dam which will destroy the habitat of the Black-necked crane at Zemithang in Arunachal Pradesh. The Save Mon Region Federation (SMRF), a group spear-headed by local Buddhist Lamas, has challenged the environmental clearance in the NGT. LIFE are the lawyers for petitioners. Sanjay Upadhyay and Raj Panjwani are lawyers for Bhilwara group.
MANIPUR:Why Manipur is flooded (12 Aug. 2015) Interesting to see Down to Earth sees role of dams in Manipur floods: On the other hand continuing their agitation Mapithel dam affected downstream people hold protest meet(16 Aug. 2015) Joint Action Committee (JAC) for Mapithel Dam Downstream Affected People organized a protest meeting at Tumukhong Village, Imphal East District. The meeting demanded immediate rehabilitation and resettlement of Mapithel Dam affected people in the downstream areas. Also get to see a special news report on 26 years long protest of Chandog village against Mapithal Dam.
NORTH-EAST:ASSAM:Experts warned Centre Govt against rushing through big dam projects (08 Aug. 2015) Even local BJP leaders are against Big dams in North EAST: “BJP leader and former bureaucrat Chandrakanta Das said that the power-starved Northeast should generate electricity through small and run-of-the-river dams instead of big dams. We need power for development, but that should not come at the cost of our pristine environment. We should explore power generation through small and run-of-the-river dams,” he said.
SIKKIM:Delay in completion of 500 MW Teesta Hydropower Project cost Lanco dearlyas lenders prepare for Rs. 2400 crore debt-equity conversion (10 Aug. 2015) Lenders to Lanco Teesta Hydro Power will convert part of their Rs 2,400-crore outstanding loans to the company into 51% equity in the most significant such takeover since the Reserve Bank of India allowed lenders to do so when borrowers fall behind on repayments. A consortium of lenders, including some large private and public sector banks, agreed to convert part of their loans to Lanco Teesta into equity at a recent meeting. Senior executives at a large commercial bank said that close to Rs 780 crore will be converted into equity under the capital market regulator’s formula. This will be the second such instance of a bank exercising its right to acquire a majority stake in an ailing company.
Large parts of Krishna basin spanning Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are facing massive rainfall deficits, drought like conditions and crop failures. The tail-end reservoirs of Srisailam and Nagarjun Sagar are almost empty. Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are already thinking of conserving the available water for drinking water. They are not even thinking of releasing any water for saving the crops in delta farmers. In upstream Maharashtra itself, the Ujani dam has ZERO live storage and perennially dry Marathawada has the highest rainfall deficit. Shockingly, in this very period from July 1 to Aug 6, Maharashtra has diverted more than 350 Million Cubic Meters of water (at most conservative estimates) FROM this very Krishna and Bhima basins to the High Rainfall area of Konkan (it already has had 1467.1 mm rain till Aug 7, 2015) and down to the sea! If this diversion was stopped since July 1, when the signs of severe monsoon deficits in the three states were already there[1], this water would have been available to save crops in lakhs of acres in the river basin, and some of it would have also flowed to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and water may have been available for saving some crops. Even now these Koyna and Tata dams have 2535 MCM water in live storage that is reserved for diversion to Konkan and to sea, but wont be release for the failing crops across the basin. How can we continue such wasteful use of water in a water deficit basin, at the cost of livelihoods of lakhs of farmers? Even now it is necessary to URGENTLY review this situation and consider stopping diversion of water FROM Krishna basin to sea. This may save crops and livelihoods of lakhs of farmers. Continue reading “As Krishna Bhima basin farmers in Maharashtra, Karnataka, AP & Telangana face drought, crop failure, Water scarcity, Maharashtra DIVERTED 350 MCM water from the basin & stored another 2535 MCM reserved to release, literally to sea!”→
As at least 222 blocks of 13 districts of South Bengal suffered massive floods with over 51 lakh people affected and crops on 5 lakh hectares ruined, questions have once again been raised if Damodar Valley Corporation[1] dams played a role in increasing this flood disaster. Available information and the statements of the DVC officials leave no doubt that DVC dams indeed released water into the rivers and this release worsened and prolonged the flood situation in South Bengal. If DVC had held back the water while cyclone Komen was active in the region, bringing heavy rains, then the flood intensity, its impact area and the flood duration could have been reduced. The DVC operators should also have kept in mind that this was high tide period when the rivers’ capacity to drain out the water was significantly lower in the delta area. The DVC dams had sufficient storage capacity to hold this water during the period. However, instead of holding back the water during this crucial period, DVC increased water releases from the dams during the flood disaster. Continue reading “Damodar Valley Dams role in W Bengal Floods – DVC Dams could have helped reduce the floods, they increased it”→
NORTH-EAST:ARUNACHAL PRADESH: Mapithel Dam; Social organization demand decommissioning of Mapithel dam (03 Aug. 2015) Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP) and Naga People’s Movement for Human Rights (NPMHR) submitted memorandum to the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi demanding a halt to the construction of Mapithel Dam and immediate decommissioning of the project. A joint statement issued by AIPP Secretary General Joan Carling and NPHRM Secretary General Neingulo Krome said the construction of Mapithel Dam under the supervision of the Government of Manipur directly affects and threatens the several scheduled tribes in the affected districts whose sources of income are land and agriculture. It may be mentioned that when it is commissioned the dam would affect over 8,000 people in 22 villages. http://e-pao.net/GP.asp?src=28..030815.aug15
UTTARAKHAND: Expert Body recommends modification of Uttarakhand hydro projects prevent 2013-like disaster (31 July 2015) An expert body appointed by the Centre to analyze the adverse ecological and environmental impact of hydroelectric power projects (HEPs) in Uttarakahand has told the Supreme Court that comprehensive modification of the projects is required to prevent a repeat of 2013 disaster in the state. In an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, the Centre said the expert body (EB) had suggested promoters of the six projects– National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC), Tehri Hydro Development Coporation (THDC), GMR and Super Hydro Pvt Ltd—to incorporate a number of safeguards in view of the 2013 disaster. The government said the projects would not be allowed to operate till the companies modify their projects. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Uttarakhand-hydro-projects-need-to-be-modified-to-prevent-2013-like-disaster-SC-told/articleshow/48290097.cms
Chief Minister asks industry to invest in small hydroelectric projects (27 July 2015) Chief Minister Harish Rawat today sought help from the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry Uttarakhand for investment in small and micro hydel projects in the state. He sought support for 2 MW to 5 MW hydel projects under the policy formulated by the state government. The state is still not realizing how small hydro projects are equally disastrous for sensitive mountains. In June 2015 SANDRP visit in Yamuna valley highlights how Gangani and Hanuman Ganga small hydro projects have caused irreversible losses to local environment and community people as well.http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/uttarakhand/cm-asks-industry-to-invest-in-small-hydroelectric-projects/110988.html
SANDRP 