DRP 240624: India to help Bangladesh conserve Teesta River

June 24, 2024February 28, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

The news this week that India and Bangladesh have agreed for India to help Bangladesh conserve the Teesta River that flows from India to Bangladesh. We hope this development is taken to its logical conclusion soon in terms of implementation of the project as soon as possible. This has the potential to not only two nations working together on conservation and rejuvenation of the Teesta River, but also possibly other 53 shared rivers. However, it would have been better if the W Bengal government would have been briefed, taken into confidence and involved in the discussions. History tells us that the cooperation efforts do not succeed without the involvement of all the stakeholders.

The formation of Joint Technical Committee to initiate discussions for the renewal of the Ganges Water Sharing treaty 1996 that will expire in 2026. One hopes that all these happen with a benevolent disposition from India as this has the potential of creating a much stronger bond between the two countries. A good example is the 1996 Ganga treaty that was also signed with a benevolent disposition. This move can also help strengthen the relations across South Asia as both Nepal and Bhutan are hoping to export hydro-electricity to Bangladesh via India.

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DRP News Bulletin

DRP 170624: Sardar Sarovar Power House to operate to reduce Dam Water level in anticipation of surplus rains: Welcome, but…

June 17, 2024February 28, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Sardar Sarovar Dam. Image Source: The Economic Times, Sept. 2022)

The news this week that SSNNL has decided to operate the 1200 MW River Bed Power House and the 250 MW Canal Head Power house to reduce the water level in Dam from 122.28 meters on June 14 to around 115 m before the monsoon inflows start, in anticipation of the above average rainfall anticipated during SW Monsoon 2024 is welcome. One hopes this is sign of SSNNL, Gujarat Government and the Narmada Control Authority have learnt some lessons after the avoidable flood disasters brought by SSP in 2023 and earlier in 2019 and 2020, as revealed by SANDRP’s analysis in each of these years.

One hopes this is not just one-off ad-hoc decisions, but part of a systemic change. This will require an integrated basin level reservoir operation policy including all the major dams of the Narmada Valley and put it out in public domain along with clearly defined Standard Operating Procedure, and names of the responsible officials for each of such major dam in the basin. The Central Water Commission will also need to be held accountable for its flood forecasting including the 7-day advance forecasts.

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DRP News Bulletin

DRP 030624: Ecological challenges before the new govts in Sikkim & Arunachal

June 3, 2024February 28, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Anti dam graffiti on the wall of the civil secretariat building in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh in July 2022. Source: Social Media)

As the Hindustan Times Editorial today (June 3, 2024) has rightly underlined, a major challenge before the newly elected state governments in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh is to urgently review the existing, under construction and planned mega hydropower projects in the fragile Himalayan ecology in these border states.

These states are inherently vulnerable to large kinds of disasters including landslides, earthquakes, erosion, floods, GLOFs and also multi hazard disasters. These inherent vulnerabilities are already hugely increased under climate crisis. The large hydropower projects being taken up here are acting as force multipliers for disasters in these states as recent experience including the Oct 2023 events in both states have shown.

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DRP News Bulletin

DRP 200524: After Ten years of Namami Gange and Rs 40 000 Cr expenditure Ganga remains dirty

May 20, 2024February 28, 2026 SANDRP1 Comment

(Feature Image: Untreated effluents being discharged in Gang river through ‘Chor’ nullah in Kanpur on May 19, 2024. Image Source: Sceenshot of ABC News Media report)

The reports this week from Ganga basin rivers clearly show that after ten years of Namami Gange and NMCG (National Mission for Clean Ganga) efforts and expenditure of over Rs 40 000 Cr, there is no improvement in even river pollution, leave aside the state of river flows or state of the rivers in the Ganga basin.

In fact, there is nothing to show that even the new STPs are making any difference to the river even with respect to the limited objective of sewage treatment. As highlighted in the report below, until and unless the governance of STPs become more transparent, accountable and participatory, there is no hope for change, no matter how much money is spent, how much new STP capacity is added or what technology is used. Only a responsive, confidence inspiring governance can make a difference. But there is no interest in working in that direction from the government.

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DRP News Bulletin

DRP 130524: Unreliable Hydropower poses new challenges for India

May 13, 2024February 28, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: NHPC’s under construction 2000 Mw Subansiri Lower Hydro Power Project. Source: PIB, June 2023)

As per this Reuters report based on official information and statements, in June 2024 India will face the biggest peak hour power shortfall in 14 years, mainly due to the slump in hydropower generation. This is the result of not only pushing hydropower projects over the decades, but also not taking any steps to optimize peaking power generation from existing hydro or doing anything worthwhile to manage peak load. India’s hydropower generation had steepest fall in four decades in the year ending on March 31 2024, which was another reason not on rely on unreliable hydropower projects. The regular and frequent disasters that we see connected with hydropower projects in almost every month and more frequently in monsoons should be another reason in this regard.

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DRP News Bulletin

DRP 220424: International Energy Agency accepts high-cost high risk hydro is no longer High Priority

April 22, 2024February 28, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has accepted in its latest World Energy Investment Special Report titled “Reducing the Cost of Capital: Strategies to unlock clean energy investment in emerging and developing economies” has candidly accepted that hydropower (excluding pump storage) is no longer the high-priority sector.

Among the challenges hydropower faces, according to IEA, include long permitting time necessary considering the high and complex impacts of hydropower projects amd delays during construction. IEA figures show that the capacity of Chinese developed hydropower projects that had high proportion of installed hydropower capacity globally in any year for decades, was the lowest in 2023 since 2014. The report accepts that high cost of capital with high interest rates can have a major impact on Cost of electricity, affecting competitiveness of the hydropower projects.

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DRP News Bulletin

DRP 150424: Supreme Court’s order on right to be free from climate change impact is welcome, BUT…

April 15, 2024February 28, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Polluted Hindon river flowing through Ghaziabad in March 2024. Bhim Singh Rawat/SANDRP)

On March 21, 2024, a case related to the Grean Indian Bustard, a critically endangered bird – numbering less than 150 individuals – has led the Supreme Court of India to expand citizens’ constitutional right to life and equality to include the right to be free from the adverse impact of climate change. The PIL filed by M.K. Ranjitsinh asked to protect the GIB from extinction. In 2021, in this PIL, the Supreme Court had passed directions restricting and regulating power lines and renewable energy projects in an area of 99,000 sq km in Rajasthan and Gujarat.

The Supreme Court’s latest order modified directions passed in the earlier judgment. Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud – writing for the 3-judge bench including Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Mishra – has expanded the contours of environmental jurisprudence: from the oft-repeated polluter pay principle–precautionary principle–public trust doctrine to the larger arena of climate justice, environmental inequity and gender justice. However, in the process, the protection the SC gave through earlier order has been withdrawn.

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DRP News Bulletin

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

April 8, 2024February 28, 2026 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.

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Yamuna River

Yamuna Manthan 030424: DDA Continues to Destroy River Floodplains

April 3, 2024May 1, 2024 SANDRP1 Comment

(Feature Image: Huge part of Yamuna floodplain raised by massive soil dumping near Bela Estate just upstream Shashtri Park Metro Depot in North East Delhi. Photo Credit: Vivek Nigam, Photo Journalist Amar Ujala, Source: Principal Correspondent in Amar Ujala, Delhi)

In latest example proving Delhi Development Authority’s (DDA) utter failure in protecting Yamuna River floodplains from abuse and encroachment, a large part of floodplain land has been levelled by soil dumping thus raising it by several meters at Bela Estate farm near Shashtri Park Metro Depot. As per the reports, the DDA has allotted about 19.5 ha of floodplain to forest dept for compensatory plantation. The plantation work at the site like at most of the sites on Yamuna floodplain in Delhi has suffered damages during July 2023 floods. And the levelling at the Bela Estate site is being done in the name of protecting the compensatory plantation.

The site is among few remaining floodplain patches available for spread of flood waters. The floodplain area on western bank at the location is less and already developed. Due to natural gradient, the part of floodplain on eastern side undergoes periodic floods. The patch was under several feet floodwater in July 2023. The floodplain immediately downstream the site has already been encroached by the bridge road, metro depot and buildings. Hence, raising of floodplain here would not only reduce spread of flood waters but also hamper the groundwater recharge.

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DRP News Bulletin

DRP 010424: As Krishna basin faces drought and scarcity, water diverted from the basin to Konkan

April 1, 2024February 28, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature image: Map of Bhivpuri Hydropower Project, one of the Tata Dams)

Large parts of South India, including Maharashtra are facing depleted reservoir levels with the beginning of summer and water scarcity. However, the Krishna Bheema basin, the second largest basin of peninsular India, is diverting water to outside the basin to Konkan. The Krishna Bheema basin has the largest live storages of Maharashtra in Koyna dam (1347.5 MCM) and Tata dams (617.67 MCM), but the water in those storages won’t be available to the drought hit residents of Krishna basin in water scarce Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

This is because Koyna and Tata dams divert the water from Krishna Bheema basins to Konkan for power generation. Even in March, according to Maharashtra Load Dispatch Centre, Koyna had generated 128.87 Million Units (MU) of power and Tata Dams had generated 130.47 MU, both by March 30. This implies diversion of millions of Cubic meters of water from Koyna and Tata Dams during March 2024, which mostly gone down from Konkan to Arabian sea.

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