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

April 7, 2025February 28, 2026 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 310325: Does Mumbai need Gargai Dam?

March 31, 2025February 28, 2026 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 240325: Will the encroachments in Anasagar lake in Ajmer be removed?

March 24, 2025February 28, 2026 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 170325: Can we work for more Kham Rivers and Less Sabarmati Rivers?

March 17, 2025February 28, 2026 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 100325: “Good Floods Reduce the Risk of Bad Floods”

March 10, 2025February 28, 2026 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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DRP News Bulletin

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

March 3, 2025February 28, 2026 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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Dams · DRP News Bulletin

DRP 240225: Unanswered questions on Ken Betwa Project

February 24, 2025February 28, 2026 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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Yamuna River

Yamuna Manthan 050225: River Needs Attention beyond Politics & Elections

February 5, 2025February 5, 2025 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Yamuna river downstream Okhla barrage in Delhi on Jan 29, 2025. Bhim Singh Rawat/SANDRP)

Political blame games surrounding the Delhi assembly election have brought Yamuna in focus for about past one month. Disappointingly, the central and all state govts in basin are responsible for continual degradation of river and none of the parties have offered practical solutions to improve the condition of the river in the national capital.

It’s a fact that the pollution from Haryana drains, namely Dhanaura Escape in Karnal, Drain No 2 in Panipat and Drain No. 6 and 8 in Sonipat have been bringing untreated effluents in increasing amounts in the river upstream of Delhi, ultimately severely crippling the Wazirabad barrage based potable water supply in the city. In addition to diversion of river waters for industrial, irrigational and potable demands from Hathni Kund Barrage, increasing unsustainable mechanized mining for about past eight years have been ruining lean season flows in the river in upper segment. The concerned central govt departments and Haryana government are required to address these issues effectively as part of a solution to improve the health of river in Delhi.

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Wetlands

World Wetlands Day 2025: Ten Positive Stories from Urban India

February 4, 2025 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Dharmesh Barai, who leads the NGO Environment Life Foundation (ELF), began the “Mangrove Clean-Up Drive” on August 15. Source: TIE)

This compilation highlights ten positive efforts put in to protect the lakes, waterbodies and mangroves in urban India by individuals and environmental groups during 2024. The top ten stories come from five metros: Delhi (3), Mumbai (2), Bengaluru (2), Chennai (2) and Kolkata (1). We are sure such positive actions also happened in other cities in 2024, but we could not find them.

We have also compiled the top ten positive wetlands reports from the countryside here. Also see overviews on the worsening plight of Ramsar wetlands, deteriorating situation of wetlands in India in general and some important judicial interventions concerning protection and management of wetlands in the country that have taken place during the past one year.

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Dams

DRP 030225: Water Anarchy in Gujarat in Narmada water allocation?

February 3, 2025February 28, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

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.

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