MoJS Comm. Report on July 2023 Delhi Floods: Fails to explain unprecedented flood levels

April 10, 2025April 10, 2025 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: A view of overflowing Yamuna river at Wazirabad in New Delhi on 13 July 2023. Credit: HT_PRINT/Source: Live Mint)

Post July 2023 unusual flood spell in Yamuna river reaching unprecedented levels in Delhi, the Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS) on August 06, 2023, constituted a committee for conducting a “Joint flood management study of river Yamuna for its reach between Hathnikund and Okhla Barrage”. The Committee headed by Chairman, Central Water Commission (CWC) & Ex-Officio Secretary to Govt of India with members from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, NCT of Delhi and expert Organizations was mandated to examine the meteorological aspects, return period of floods, discharging capacity of barrages, functional requirement of ITO barrage, etc.

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DRP News Bulletin

DRP NB 070425: New Impact of Big dams: Increased oxygen intake in inland waters

April 7, 2025April 7, 2025 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Merging point of of Badiyar gaad (left) and Yamuna river (right) at Gangani in Badkot, Uttarakhand. BS Rawat/SANDRP)

New research published this week reveals a startling change: the oxygen levels in inland waters has been dramatically reducing since 1900, due to human activities including big dams and pollution. This condition leads to dead fish, collapsing food chains and reducing water quality, among other impacts.

There are simultaneous processes ongoing in inland waters leading to production and consumption of oxygen. The location and processes for both the production and consumption of oxygen has been changing during 1900 to 2010. The Global oxygen consumption in inland waters, net of production has gone up by over 100% from 0.26 Pg/year in 1900 to 0.53 Pg/ year in 2010. While earlier climate change was considered major contributor to this reduction, new research shows it is big dams and pollution that are much bigger contributors. Inland waters now pull nearly 1 billion tons of oxygen from the atmosphere every year — half as much as the entire ocean emits back.

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DRP News Bulletin

DRP NB 310325: Does Mumbai need Gargai Dam?

March 31, 2025 SANDRPLeave a comment

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, brushing aside the concerns of forest officials, opposition, environment and available options this week has asked the officials to fast track the Forest and other clearances for the controversial Gargai dam for additional supply of water to Mumbai. This is shocking on several counts.

Our study earlier showed that Mumbai does not need any additional dam including Gargai if it utilizes available local resources including rainfall, reuse of treated sewage, desalinization, demand side management, groundwater recharge, among other cost effective and less destructive options. The Chief Minister of his government has not bothered to respond to these concerns or options. In fact, when our study was published, even government officials in Mumbai had supported our conclusions.

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DRP News Bulletin

DRP NB 240325: Will the encroachments in Anasagar lake in Ajmer be removed?

March 24, 2025March 24, 2025 SANDRPLeave a comment

Over the last about 4 years, very interesting events are playing out in India’s judiciary regarding the encroachments in Anasagar lake in Ajmer, Rajasthan.

The first order from the National Green Tribunal came to remove the encroachments from Anasagar lake in Dec 2021, reiterated in Aug 2023 as the encroachments were in violation of the environmental regulations and Wetland Rules of 2017. Apparently, the state government with investment of Rs 12 Cr was the biggest encroacher and the investment in the encroached land continued even while NGT order was awaiting implementation.

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DRP News Bulletin

DRP NB 170325: Can we work for more Kham Rivers and Less Sabarmati Rivers?

March 17, 2025March 17, 2025 SANDRPLeave a comment

This week’s DRP News Bulletin brings two encouraging reports about revival of Kham River in Sambhajinagar district in Maharashtra. The Bulletin also brings report of Gujarat Human Rights Commission sending notice to the state and city government to uphold the environment rights of citizens in Vadodara. There is also here the news of signing of MOU for beginning of 4 km water taxi along Yamuna in Delhi upstream of Wazirabad barrage, of course without any environment or social impact assessment, any environmental clearance, any public consultation process, with blind faith in Sabarmati River Front Development model.

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DRP News Bulletin

DRP NB 100325: “Good Floods Reduce the Risk of Bad Floods”

March 10, 2025March 11, 2025 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: An aerial view of the flooded collectorate ghat at the bank of Ganga river in Patna. PTI Photo/Source: The Asian Age)

This remarkable report this week, quoting the work of Gilbert F White, also considered “father of floodplain management” provide a number of lessons in flood management. These include: – “Floods are ‘acts of God’, flood losses are largely acts of man” (By ‘acts of God,’ he meant that floods are perfectly natural events);

– “Yes, floods will happen. Whether or not those floods are good floods or bad floods, whether or not they cause damage is largely up to us”;

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Yamuna River

Yamuna Manthan 060325: Dolphin Survey Rings Alarm for Pachnad Dam Project

March 6, 2025March 6, 2025 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Line drawing of proposed Pachnad Major Irrigation Project. Source: Amar Ujala)

The findings of the latest Project Dolphin Survey Report released on March 3, 2025, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in presence of Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav have raised significant concerns over proposed Pachnad Major Irrigation Project.

While the survey reiterates the adverse impacts of dams, barrages fragmenting the national aquatic animal’s habitat as the population has been found nearly absent between Narora barrage and Kanpur barrage stretch in main stem of Ganga, it also reveals that the endangered species are preferring refuge in Ganga tributaries and confluence points and has been found in highest numbers along 47 km long river stretch between Chambal and Pachnad in Bhind which still undammed.

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DRP News Bulletin

DRP NB 030325: Supreme Court asks: How a city can become smart without protecting the water bodies, wetlands

March 3, 2025 SANDRPLeave a comment

In a welcome development, the Supreme Court of India has asked, in the context of Ajmer City in Rajasthan, how can a city become smart without protecting the water bodies/ wetlands? How cities will become smarter by encroachments on the water bodies and wetlands? The Supreme Court bench threatened the Rajasthan government of contempt of court for non-compliance of order dated Dec 1 2023 as also the order of National Green Tribunal on Dec 13 2021.

The Supreme Court here has hit the nail and raised a very fundamental question that is relevant to all the cities across India as they are all guilty of allowing encroachments and destruction of local water bodies in their respective areas. This is a suicidal step as it has adverse impact on the cities in multiple ways and yet, most cities consider this smart and in fact get away with it. There is also no National Urban Water Policy guiding the cities solve the puzzle of multiple issues handled by multiple departments, including some by the local, state and central governments. This self-created mess in the cities comes handy for the various vested interests in encroaching more water bodies. The judiciary, so far has also not been effective in addressing this issue with any effectiveness.

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Yamuna River

An Action Plan for Yamuna in Delhi

February 28, 2025 SANDRPLeave a comment

It was great to see that river figured prominently in the just concluded Delhi Assembly Elections where BJP has come to power in the state after 27 years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured Delhi that the BJP government will make every effort to clean Yamuna. “It may be a long haul but Mother Yamuna will surely bless our efforts,” he said. Will this help the cause of the River?

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Dams · DRP News Bulletin

DRP NB 240225: Unanswered questions on Ken Betwa Project

February 24, 2025February 24, 2025 SANDRPLeave a comment

At a well-attended meeting at India International Centre in Delhi on Feb 20 2025, organised by VIDHI Centre for Legal Policy, a panel of speakers including Shri Shashi Shekhar (former secretary, Union Ministry of Water Resources) and Shri Jasbir Singh Chauhan (former Principle Chief Conservator of Forests, Madhya Pradesh) and Himanshu Thakkar of SANDRP, a number of fundamental questions were raised about the controversial Ken Betwa River Link Project. Unfortunately, no clear answers are forth coming from the authorities.

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