DRP NB 010724: Time for independent review of Polavaram Project?

July 1, 2024July 3, 2024 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Work going on Polavaram Project at Polavaram in West Godavari. DC Image: Narayana Rao, Dec. 2020)

The sequence of events over the last two decades that ended this week with white paper on Polavaram project being released by the newly elected Andhra Pradesh govt underlines urgent need for an independent assessment of the multi-state Polavaram Project on Godavari River in Andhra Pradesh.

The story of the project similar to, though a bit longer than that of the ill-fated Kaleshwaram Project of the neighbor Telugu speaking state of Telangana. Both are ill-conceived, expensive, high impact projects on same Godavari River, both taken forward without sufficient studies and implemented without sufficient checks and balances.

Continue reading →

DRP News Bulletin

DRP NB 290424: Why is Climate Change not major election issue?

April 29, 2024May 2, 2024 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Vehicles stuck in debris following a recent cloudburst at Saat Meel in Mandi, on August 20, 2023. (PTI Photo/Money Control)

World’s largest democratic exercise is now ongoing in India to elect the members of India’s Lok Sabha. Over 97 crores are eligible to vote in these elections. One of the biggest factors that is adversely affecting people across India currently is Climate Change. It is affecting almost every aspect of life and the adverse impacts are only increasing with every passing year. This is man-made disaster basically happening due to anthropogenic reasons, affecting air, water, climate, food, health, livelihoods, disasters and so on, affecting everyone. Currently, India is also a major contributor to the climate change causing green-house gas emissions, even though historically, the developed countries have contributed much more.

More importantly, the development options that the elected government choose will decide how the people will be impacted by climate change. The government has large number of options for pathways to development. Considering all this, one expected that climate change responses will be a major issue in these elections. But that is clearly not the case. BJP and Congress, two of the biggest parties fighting the elections, have mentioned climate change in their manifestos, but neither has dealt with this important issue with the detail and seriousness required. Nor are any of them making climate change a major election issue. One expects the ruling party to at least respond in greater detail and seriousness to this issue, but that is not the case.

Continue reading →

DRP News Bulletin

DRP NB 080424: Demand to include River protection measures in election manifestoes

April 8, 2024 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Ganga river at Garhmukteshwar in March 2024. Bhim Singh Rawat/SANDRP)

The demand of NAPM to political parties going to the National elections in next couple of months to include protection of rivers and communities dependent on rivers in their manifestoes is most appropriate and urgently required.

Some key components of the demand include strengthening of decentralized river governance, role in decision making related to rivers for the fisherfolks, boats people and other river dependent communities. A draft of the People’s River Protection Bill has also been sent to the political parties. The NAPM also opposed indiscriminate construction of dams, hydro projects, embankments, barrages, river front developments, illegal sand mining, dumping of solid and liquid waste in the rivers and also interlinking of projects, all being done in the name of development, with least concern for the rivers. The draft bill also demands removal of unjust encroachments into riverbeds and floodplains. NAPM also demands continued flow in the perennial rivers by way of adequate environment flows throughout the length of the rivers from origin to its confluence with other rivers or sea.

Continue reading →

Hydro Disaster

March 2024: 3 Hydropower Workers Killed in Avalanche in Kinnaur-Himachal Pradesh

March 12, 2024March 12, 2024 SANDRP1 Comment

(Feature image: Rescue work being done at Selti-Masrang HEP site in Kafnu, Kinnaur on March 11, 2024. Image Source: News 18 Hindi)

A snow avalanche has killed three workers of under construction Selti-Masrang hydroelectric power (HEP) project in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh. The incident occurred in after noon hours reportedly around 01:00 pm on March 11, 2024.

The 24 Mw project is being built by Hyderabad based Ramesh Hydro Power Private Limited on Wangar khad, a tributary of Sutlej River near Kafnu village panchayat in Bhaba valley of the district. The basic information about the project can be seen here. A forest land of 4.75 ha was diverted for the project wide permission given in May 2013. In 2016, 0.64 ha more forest land was applied for. The project cost then in 2016 was Rs 154. 27 cr.

Continue reading →

DRP News Bulletin

DRP NB 050224: IMD needs to improve forecasting and sharing, but doing the opposite?

February 5, 2024 SANDRP4 Comments

(Feature Image: Climate change catoon by Jug Suraiya & Partho Sengupta. ToI, 23 June 2018)

The decision of the IMD to shut down 199 of its district agromet units across India is disturbing on a number of counts. In the era of climate change when the key parameters are undergoing such rapid change, there is need for increasing monitoring and sharing of climate information by the IMD and need to in fact decentralize the whole effort. But this decision of IMD is going against this basic requirement.

In fact, the IMD has become a sort of holy cow, while in reality its performance in monitoring, forecasting and sharing information in time is far from satisfactory. This is increasingly evident every year when IMD fails to provide not only accurate, actionable, rainfall forecasts sufficiently in advance to help reduce the flood disasters and also take timely decisions on reservoir operations, IMD also fails to provide even timely information about the actual rainfall on ground and how that rainfall is going to get converted to inflows in rivers and reservoirs. Similarly, the district agromet units can provide farmer level and decentralized accurate rainfall monitoring and forecasting information that can help farmers take timely decisions.

Continue reading →

Dam Safety

2023: Safety & Sustainability Concerns On Dams & Hydro Power Projects in India

January 3, 2024January 3, 2024 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Drone image from the site of the Teesta III dam in Sikkim, looking towards Chungthang town. Image by Praful Rao of Save the Hills, Source: The Landslide Blog by Dave Petley.)

In this fourth part of annual overview, SANDRP compiles the issues affecting the safety and sustainability of dams and hydro power projects in India during 2023. The report starts with governance and management issues of dams and hydro power projects as highlighted in our weekly Dams, Rivers & People News Bulletin (DRP NB) and blogs all through the year amid rising concerns and disasters on these structures across the country. It then covers some relevant judicial interventions and governments decisions on the issue.

Please also see part one of the series compiling dams and hydro projects related disasters in India in 2023; part two on peoples resistance against destructive dams and hydro projects, part three on dam induced flood incidents in 2023. In the fifth and final part, we have tracked the important dams and hydro projects related decisions taken by Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) and Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) during 2023.

Continue reading →

Dam Decommissioning · Dam Safety

दुनिया भर में बांधों को हटाने में वृद्धि

December 16, 2023December 16, 2023 SANDRPLeave a comment

हिमांशु ठक्कर

सभी बड़े बांधों की उम्र सीमित होती है। क्या आपने कभी सोचा है कि एक बार बांध का उपयोगी जीवन समाप्त होने पर उसका क्या होता है? इसे हटाना होता है जिसे डीकमीशनिंग कहते हैं। डीकमीशनिंग का मतलब [i] बांध और उससे जुड़ी संरचनाओं को पूरी तरह हटाने से है। दुनिया के तीसरे सबसे बड़े बांध निर्माता के रूप में भारत के लिए यह एक बहुत ही प्रासंगिक सवाल है। यह मुद्दा इसलिए और भी अधिक महत्वपूर्ण हो गया है क्योंकि अब बड़े बांध न तो आवश्यक है और न ही व्यावहारिक। इसके अलावा अब बहती नदियों के महत्व को तेज़ी से सराहा जा रहा है। यह ध्यान में रखना ज़रूरी है कि किसी बांध को बिना उचित रखरखाव के नदी पर बने रहने की अनुमति नहीं दी जा सकती है। इससे बांध के नीचे की ओर रहने वाले समुदाय और अर्थव्यवस्था के लिए खतरा बना रहता है।

Continue reading →

Dam Disaster

Massive Landslide AGAIN damages Lower Subansiri Hydro Project in Oct 2023

October 28, 2023November 8, 2023 SANDRPLeave a comment

Once again, after several such incidents in the past, the controversial 2000 MW Lower Subansiri Hydropower project on Assam Arunachal Border was hit by a massive landslide at around 11.30 am on Oct 27 2023. The landslide damaged the project, further delaying the commissioning of the first unit, increasing the cost and time over runs of the expensive, much delayed project. Following the landslide, the only functioning diversion tunnel no 1 of the project, about 200 m upstream from the dam was blocked. The river water, about 997 cumecs (cubic meters per second) suddenly started flowing towards the dam, where the spillway gates were still under installation, yet to be tested. The water could overflow from the under construction spillway gates once the reservoir reached 145 meters level (above Mean Sea Level). The massive, majestic Subansiri river was completely without any flow till the river water started flowing through the spillway gates about twelve hours later. (Feature photo above shows the snapshot when landslide started and in the foreground, water is seen rushing towards the dam)

Assam Rajya Sabha MP Ajeet Bhuyan, referring to the October 27 landslide said in his letter to Prime Minister that the incident is only a warning, which can’t be ignored: “The hilly soil of Arunachal is fragile. Secondly, the dam site is earthquake-prone. Thirdly, the base of the dam was reduced by 09 metres without any public explanation. These are enough indications for a major disaster in the coming days”. On Oct 31 2023, he appealed to PM to take swift measures and fix accountability. He reminded PM that Mr Modi himself had said in 2014 no big dams in North East if people do not want. He also reminded that current Defense Minister Rajnath Singh had also said they will scrap the project. Mr Bhuyan said that he apprehended much bigger disaster than recent Sikkim Disaster if this projects goes ahead.

Continue reading →

DRP News Bulletin

DRP NB 161023: Kaddam Dam Rehabilitation in Telangana: Many more will need this

October 16, 2023October 16, 2023 SANDRP1 Comment

(Kaddam dam spilling over with flood waters in July 2023. Image Source: SM)

Telangana’s Kaddam Dam, built with inadequate spillway capacity, has seen multiple threats and disasters over the years, starting from the very first year after its commissioning in 1958. The dam again saw threat of being washed away during monsoon this year. The Telangana government has decided to rehabilitate the dam at a cost of Rs 640-700 Cr, by reconstruction of spillway and installation of new gates. We hope the new spillway capacity will be in line with the changed monsoon rainfall pattern and will be able to take care of the higher probable maximum precipitation and higher probable maximum flood. Though we are unlikely to get to know how this is going to happen, as the standard operating procedure of all dam owners in India is secrecy rather than transparency even in dam safety aspects. One also hopes this is done at the earliest, and till that is achieved, the dam rule curve will be changed to ensure the dam does not face disastrous situations during monsoon.

Continue reading →

CWC - Central Water Commission

Oct 2023: CWC Flood Forecast FAILS during Teesta Glacial Floods

October 9, 2023October 9, 2023 SANDRP1 Comment

(Feature Image: NHPC’s Teesta VI hydro project at Sirwani, Sikkim affected by GLOF deluge on Oct. 04, 2023. Image Source: Weatherman Shubham.)

The Teesta River has witnessed unprecedented scale of floods following South Lohnak Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) event in the intermittent night of October 03-04, 2023. The details and impact of the deluge can be seen here. The incident has once again underlined shortcomings in Central Water Commission’s (CWC) flood monitoring and forecasts work.

Continue reading →