As we welcome the new year on its first day, it is also worth looking back at the year just gone by. Some of the major trends of 2023, relevant to us here were: Larger number of dam disasters, including spillway disasters and hydropower project disasters; more severe dam flood instances including in Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, among others; rather low hydropower generation, raising questions about dependability of hydropower projects; very huge number of pump storage projects getting sanctioned by the Expert Appraisal Committee of MoEF on River Valley Projects, raising question mark over their viability; record breaking high temperatures and changing rainfall patterns with 5.5% deficit rainfall in SW Monsoon and 19% below normal rains in Post Monsoon period; increasing trend of unregulated sand mining with media more frequently using the term sand mafia; increasing instances of disastrous urban floods including Bangalore, Chennai and Delhi; river front development getting pushed even as people’s protests like in Pune increasing; question marks about compromised decisions of the Expert Appraisal Committee that includes people involved in conflict of interest.

There have also been numerous positive developments, including the successful mission to rescue the 41 workers trapped in Silkyara tunnel even though question mark about the disaster remains; High Court asking that the reports related to the sinking Joshimath; Meghal river revival effort by communities in Gujarat as reported in this bulletin; Dibang Resistance getting the Bhagirath Prayas Samman and beginning of decommissioning of the biggest dam in US, among others.