DRP NB 201123: Inland fisheries need attention: World Fisheries Day 2023

November 20, 2023November 20, 2023 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Recreational fishers catching fish in Yamuna river downstream Wazirabad barrage in Delhi in June 2023. Image: BS Rawat, SANDRP.)

On the World Fisheries Day, celebrated on Nov 21 every year, there is urgent need to focus attention on the well-being of one of the poorest and socio-economically weakest and much neglected section of population: Inland fisherfolks. They are in huge number, more than 2 crore directly dependent on inland fisheries, many others indirectly dependent. They, unfortunately have no voice in development discourse or decision making processes, nor any even in mitigation measures. Creating an inland fisheries policy, department and institute in every state and at centre can be an important step forward.

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DRP News Bulletin

DRP NB 091023: MoEF Panel concerned about impacts of Small Hydro

October 9, 2023 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Gangani SHP on Yamuna river in Uttarkashi affected by June 2013 flash flood. Image: Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan/July 2013)

The Forest Advisory Committee of Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) have rightly raised concerns about the impacts of so called small hydropower projects, that is hydropower projects with capacity below 25 MW. The MoEF assumes, following such unknown science or logic, that such projects have no environment and social impacts, they do not need environment and social impact assessments or management plan, they do not need any public consultation process, they do not need any monitoring or compliance and most significantly, they do not even need any clearances! A more unscientific thinking of the govt of India’s top environmental body would be difficult to find.

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DRP News Bulletin

DRP NB 121222: Green Hydrogen from Hydropower is false solution

December 12, 2022December 12, 2022 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Reservoir of Vyasi hydro project dam on Yamuna river in Dehradun. Credit: Varsha Singh/The Third Pole.)

A section of the hydro lobby has been trying to push hydropower in the name of producing green hydrogen as an alternative energy source. However, it has been known for a long time that this is a false solution. There cannot be green hydrogen when sourced from hydropower as not only hydropower projects have huge social and environmental footprint, they also have huge carbon footprint as the following article shows. It would be best to out rightly reject any such claim of green hydrogen when sourced from hydropower project.

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Dams · DRP News Bulletin

DRP NB 050922: Corruption in Large Dams & pro dam media Mughals

September 5, 2022 SANDRP2 Comments

(Feature Image: Sardar Sarovar Dam on Narmada river. Source: Central Water Commission 30.08.2022)

As this article on corruption in large dams in India shows, it is open secret that large dams involve massive corruption, kickbacks and political funding. But the politicians from PM downwards across the party lines have understandably no interest in this issue.

But unfortunately, the large dams-corruption is not limited to politicians. The corruption in various forms plague even the media Mughals like Swaminathan Ankalesaria Aiyer and Shekhar Gupta, both known for their fundamentalist pro dam views. They too have no interest in corruption in large dams. In fact some of them have no qualms accepting sponsorships of dam contractors for their media awards! They are however, ever ready to criticize Narmada Bachao Andolan and Medha Patkar, though they have no clue about the issues they are talking about and keep using some flawed study whose reply (by Nandini Oza and Shripad Dharmadhikary) is already out in public domain. It is interesting that they have launched this fresh attack on dam critics just when Gujarat Chief Minister and country’s Home Minister have also launched attack on the NBA. Neither Gujarat CM, PM or HM is replying as to why Kutch, the main justification for Gujarat getting disproportionate share of Narmada waters, were the last to get their share of the water (even now not fully as the canal distribution system is still incomplete), almost two decades after the water rich Central Gujarat started getting Narmada waters. Nor are the pro dam media Mughals bothered about this.

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DRP News Bulletin

DRP NB 9 May 2022: Forensic Team report: Michigan 2020 Dams failures were preventable

May 9, 2022May 16, 2022 SANDRPLeave a comment

A Forensic engineering Team appointed by the USA’s Federal Energy Regulatory Commission post the May 19, 2020 failure of Edinville and Sanford Dams in Michigan state of USA has published a 502 page comprehensive report on the dam failure within less than two years of the disaster. The full report published on May 4, 2022 is in public domain and has concluded that the dam failures were foreseeable and preventable.

There are a number of things we can learn from this. Firstly that there are such credible independent assessment of dam failures, we have none in India even after multiple dam failures each year. Secondly, such assessments are promptly in public domain. Thirdly, the reports are completed in less then two years. We have none of these. Even the Dam Safety Act passed by the parliament does not have provisions for any of these.

There are a lot of implications for India here. It means for example that we will never know the real reasons for the dam related disasters. Secondly, we won’t be able to learn any lessons. Thirdly we will never be able to improve the governance of our dams and rivers. Fourthly, we won’t be able to fix accountability.

There is so much at stake related to governance of our dams, but we seem completely unconcerned about it. There is a lot we can learn from others here.

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DRP News Bulletin

DRP NB 2 May 2022: Sand a strategic resource like water, rethink its exploitation: UN

May 2, 2022May 2, 2022 SANDRP3 Comments

A United Nations report released this week on Apr 26, 2022 has recommended that river sand needs to be considered by the governments as a strategic resource like water for its multiple roles in the environment and its extraction and use needs to be rethought. The UNEP report says sand is the second most exploited resource. And yet there are no credible governance guidelines or policies for the exploitation and use of this report, nor assessment of impact of unsustainable exploitation.

The report says: “Extracting sand where it plays an active role, such as rivers, and coastal or marine ecosystems, can lead to erosion, salination of aquifers, loss of protection against storm surges and impacts on biodiversity, which pose a threat to livelihoods through, among other things, water supply, food production, fisheries, or to the tourism industry.”

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DRP News Bulletin

DRP NB 18 April 2022: Clean Hydro does not make much sense in India: Experts

April 18, 2022 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature image:- Following massive landslides in Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh sees growing protests against hydropower projects. DTE)

As the following report from Energy Monitor this week says, according to international experts, the idea that hydro is clean does not make sense. They say that for a number of reasons including for the social risks, environmental risks and the increased emissions of methane due to rotting of organic matter flowing in the river and settling in the reservoirs. In spite of some apparent inherent misconceptions, this part of the report is sound and should be a wakeup call for the supporters of big hydro in India. As the report suggests this is particularly true in the context of climate change. Indeed, this has been our own experience in India with increasing disasters related to hydro projects and the increasing unviability of the hydro projects in India.

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DRP News Bulletin

DRP NB 4 April 2022: Gujarat Tribals unite to stop Par Tapi Narma

April 4, 2022 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image:-Tribals protesting against Par-Tapi-Narmada Project. The Indian Tribals)

The amazing unity and fight shown by Gujarat Tribals in their protest against the Par Tapi Narmada Link has led to both Gujarat govt and Central govt agreeing to suspend the project. However, the tribals are rightly not satisfied with the word of play indulged in by the Gujarat and Union govt so far. The central govt has said that the project will not go ahead as long as there is no consensus among the party states, but that statement is true even with or without the campaign launched against the project. The Maharashtra govt in any case is not in agreement with the project. Gujarat govt has not taken a clear decision to permanently cancel the project and without such a decision, Gujarat govt can again revive the project any minute. Same is true about the Central govt. So until both Gujarat govt and Central govt decide to cancel the project and come out with official notification to that effect, the tribals are right to continue the protest and not believe in either of the govt.

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Interlinking of RIvers · Ken Betwa Project

Ken Betwa Project shows why River Linking is non starter

February 26, 2022 SANDRPLeave a comment

A series of moves by the current Central Government, along with some of the state governments since March 2021 have tried to orchestra a push for the Interlinking of Rivers (ILR) in a manner somewhat similar to what happened in 2002 under the previous BJP government led by Shri AB Vajpayee. The 2002 effort did not achieve much on ground and the initiatives two decade later are unlikely to achieve any progress either.

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DRP News Bulletin

DRP NB 14 Feb 2022: Wake up call: Chairman of Supreme Court HPC Chopra Resigns

February 14, 2022 SANDRP2 Comments

(Feature Image: Pillars of elevated road eating into Ganga’s actual riverbed at Rishikesh. Bhim Singh Rawat/SANDRP, 08 Oct. 2021)

The resignation of Shri Ravi Chopra, chairman of the Supreme Court appointed High Powered Committed to report about the implications and dimensions of the Char Dham Highway in fragile Himalayan region is yet another wake up call for all concerned, including the Supreme Court. Chopra has said that following the Dec 14, 2021 order of the Supreme Court in the Char Dham case, the panel “has been shattered”. Chopra’s resignation letter dated Jan 27, 2022 has only now being made public. The order of Dec 14, 2021 was not only contrary to the order of Sept 8, 2020, but also limited the HPC’s role even in monitoring to less than 30% of the road, that too when the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways have consistently ignored the recommendations of the HPC. Will the resignation have any impact on the apex court of the project or the MoRTH?

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