A report this week quotes a Govt of Gujarat (GOG) insider saying that GOG is giving 16.7% of SSP (Sardar Sarovar Project) water for industries (with more in pipeline) against planned allocation of just 2% (0.2 Million Acre Feet or MAF). Similarly, against planned allocation of zero for Urban areas in Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Vadodara, Kheda and Bharuch, most large urban areas are getting Narmada water. However, the insider says, the area irrigated by the SSP is only 33% of the targeted area, with largest water quantities going to already irrigated central Gujarat. Similarly, with the Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal (NWDT) asked Gujarat to provide water for the SSP Downstream areas from its allocated share, but Gujarat keeps claiming it has no water for this and asks other states to provide water for the downstream areas from common pool. It seems the worst fears of the project critiques are coming true. The insider has in fact characterized this state of affairs as water anarchy in Gujarat.
Continue reading “DRP 030225: Water Anarchy in Gujarat in Narmada water allocation?”Tag: governance
DRP 200125: Whither Env Clearance Rejection rate from Expert Appraisal Committee or MoEF?
A detailed review of functioning of Union Ministry of Environment and Forests’ (MoEF) Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) on River Valley Projects (RVP) for 2024 by SANDRP shows that the committee or for that matter MoEF has almost non-existent rejection rate. Even when a project is not cleared, when it applies again, it gets clearance, whether the application if for stage I (Terms of Reference) or Stage II (Environment Clearance- EC) clearance. Even in some cases like Pump Storage Projects (PSP) in Western Ghats or the Hydropower projects in disaster prone Himalayas, including the disaster-stricken projects like the 1200 MW Teesta III projects in Sikkim, the scrutiny including field visits by the EAC Sub committees is minimal, not worthy calling even scrutiny.
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DRP 130125: Will Judiciary take these matters to logical conclusion?
There are at least four cases in this past week where the judiciary has used strong words or taken up crucial issues in water, dams, hydropower projects, wetlands and riverbed mining related issues. In the case related to the safety of Mullaperiyar dam on Kerala-TN border, the Supreme Court has prodded the Centre to wake up from the slumber to ensure that National Dam Safety Authority quickly forms a panel to examine the project. This case has wide ranging repercussions not only about this project, but also functioning of NDSA and other bodies under the Dam Safety Act 2021. Indeed, there is huge question mark as to what extent NDSA and DSA has made our dams any safer.
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DRP 060125: Concerns about & Contradictions in CGWB’s Reports
The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) released two important reports last week. While the Annual Ground Water Quality Report 2024 reveals rise in nitrate fluoride, arsenic and uranium contimination of groundwater resource in India, the Dynamic Groundwater Resource Assessment Report 2024 claims substantial rise in annual groundwater recharge and decline in extraction of the resource.
As per the first report, the number of districts affected by high nitrate levels in groundwater has gone up to 440 (near 56% of all 779 districts in country) from 359 found in 2017 assessment which means in 7 years 81 more districts have been found having excessive nitrate levels in groundwater. This should concern us from a number of points of view.
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DRP 161224: Arunachal Pradesh needs dialogue on dams
(Feature Image: Resident in upper Siang protesting agaisnt SUMP on Dec. 15. Image source: Ebo Milli @Ebo_Mili_Linggi on X)
Hundreds of People of Siang, East Siang and Upper Siang Districts of Arunachal Pradesh came out in peaceful protests on Dec 14 2024. They opposed the govt effort to deploy armed central and state police forces for a pre-feasibility study for the 12500 MW hydropower project on Siang River, a tributary of Brahmaputra River.
Indeed, as remarkably articulate report by in Arunachal Times said, Siang needs dialogue not guns. In fact, the Chief Minister recently and even the Prime Minister and Union Home Minister had earlier promised to the people of the state that if they do not want big dams, such projects will not be taken without people’s consent as there were options for power and development.
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DRP 091224: “Kale Pani Da Morcha”: A Landmark people’s movement
(Feature Image: Women activists who were standing and displaying placards were detained by the Ludhiana police during the protest. Photo: By special arrangement/The Wire)
‘Kale Pani da Morcha”, the people’s movement against Pollution of Buddha Nallah, a tributary of Sutlej River in Ludhiana (Punjab) is a landmark movement in more than one sense. Firstly, while severe pollution of rivers is the usual story from across the country, a courageous people’s movement to address is the issue is such a rare event.
The fact that the industries association actually threatened this movement with a counter from the industries and their workers is shocking and shows the impunity of these industries. While the state government has to take quick action to address the issue, there is also a huge role for the central government, which has abjectly failed to perform its basic duty of providing credible governance of rivers, including their pollution in India. They including CPCB and MoEF know since decades that CETPs are completely failed model, and no worthwhile action has been taken to address the failure, including by the World Bank which has funded many of them. The filthy rivers all over India are violating the fundamental rights of millions of people, without any credible action even by the judiciary.
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DRP 021224: Why Ken Betwa Link should not go forward
A detailed report this week based on extensive field visit and interview of the concerned persons shows once again why there is no justification for Ken Betwa Link starting from lack of hydrological justification: There is no credible evidence or are not credible figures proving that Ken has surplus water and Betwa is deficit. The project will actually facilitate export of water from drought prone Bundelkhand in addition to bringing massive adverse impacts and as a former Panna collector said, will keep the upstream Ken Basin area permanently backward. This was also proved during the SANDRP initiated Ken Yatra from Ken Yamuna confluence upstream to the origin of the river.
The whole exercise of getting clearances for the project has been an exercise in manipulations at each step of the way, including EIA, Public Hearings, EAC process, Environment Clearance, Forest Clearance, Wildlife clearance and gram sabha clearances. This is also true as this report shows, for the people to be displaced by the project. The scathing CEC (Central Empowered Committee appointed by the Supreme Court) report on its wildlife related issue has not even been considered by the Supreme Court. We hope the Supreme Court will soon consider this and put a stop to the mindless project.
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DRP 251124: Protest by Mothers Union against sand mining along Assam-Meghalaya border
(Feature Image: Mother’s Union protest rally against sand mining. Image Source: Nagaland Post, 03 Nov 2024)
The ongoing protest by the Mother’s Union against sand mining in Dudhnoi River along the Assam Meghalaya border has brought to focus the serious implications of unsustainable sand mining, whether legal or illegal. The campaign has wide based support from the Garo Students Union, All Bodo Students Union, Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti and other groups.
The campaign has highlighted that due to use of motorized equipment to extract sand, the water level in the Dudhnoi river is dropping hugely, including during rainy season. The campaign has also pointed out that the forest, mining, transport and police departments have been allowing over loaded sand laden dumpers with or without proper challans.
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Yamuna Manthan 061124: Save River from ‘Illegal’ Sand Mining
(Feature: Members of Haryana Anti Corruption Society, Yamuna Nadi Mitra Mandli, Bhartiya Kisan Sangh, Yamuna Nagar raising concerns over unabated unsustainable riverbed mining in Yamuna in Gumthala Rao, Karnal on Oct 07, 2024.)
Large scale riverbed mining has become most underestimated and least discussed threat for Yamuna rivers. While increasing pollution has turned the river stretch between Delhi and Agra ecologically dead, the rampant sand mining has been severely damaging the Yamuna eco-system in upper and lower segments.
Presently, the mining menace is quite rampant in Paonta Sahib, Yamuna Nagar, Saharanpur, Karnal, Shamili, Panipat, Sonipat, Baghpat and Ghaziabad districts along the river in upper segment. Similarly, in lower segment the main stem of river as well as its key tributaries Chambal, Sind, Betwa, Ken have been bearing the burnt of unsustainable sand mining.
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DRP 041124: Study says Big Dams are costly gambles or frauds?
(Feature Image: Lower Subansiri HEP dam. Source: PIB, June 2023)
An interesting study reported this week reveals Big Dams are costly gambles and explains why this is so. In fact, the explanations go on to reveal that this is by design, the costs are systematically under estimated and benefits are exaggerated, so the dams fail to provide the promised benefits. So Big Dams are actually not gambles, but frauds. They get away with all this due to lack of transparency and accountability in the governance, the study reveals.
For those following the global debate on big dams over the decades know that there is nothing new here. A number of studies earlier exposed all this, including the Independent Review of the Sardar Sarovar Project instituted by the World Bank, the World Commission on Dams report, the India Country study done for WCD, among others.
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SANDRP 