The National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) Chairman Shri Anil Jain has through a letter dated May 1, 2024, sent an interim report of the NDSA committee to the Telangana govt. The 16 page interim report titled: “RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE INTERIM MEASURES AND FURTHER STUDIES/INVESTIGATIONS TO BE TAKEN UP BY IRRIGATION & CAD DEPARTMENT, BEFORE THE ONSET OF COMING MONSOON” came as an annexure to the letter addressed to Rahul Bojja, Irrigation and Command Area Department (I & CAD) of Govt of Telangana.
Continue reading “May 2024: Questions about NDSA interim report on Kaleshwaram Dam Disaster”Tag: Medigadda
DRP NB 190224: NBWL decision of no clearance without compliance of previous projects
The decision of National Board of Wild Life (NBWL) not to clear any projects affecting wildlife areas till there is compliance certificate from previous such projects is certainly welcome, was long overdue. We hope NBWL comes out with clearly defined norms for implementing this decision and also implements the decision in letter and spirit. Needless to add, the compliance certificate must come through an independent assessment done by a body that involves no conflict of interest and has independent track record.
Unfortunately, the news this week that NBWL has given green light to the Jamrani Dam in Uttarakhand without a clearance from National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) is a significant dampener. Similarly, the past track record of NBWL, including the way it gave clearance to Ken Betwa River Link Project does not inspire too much confidence that NBWL is serious about this.
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DRP NB 120224: Report of Parl Com on Yamuna wants 23 cumecs water in the river
(Feature Image: Flowless Yamuna downstream Vyasi HEP, Dehradun in June 2023. Bhim Singh Rawat/SANDRP)
In a welcome move, the Parliamentary Committee report on Yamuna River has suggested at least 23 cumecs (Cubic Meters for Second) water needs to be released from Hathnikund barrage at least in nine non monsoon months from Oct to June as per the recommendation of the National Institute of Hydrology, a govt of India body. The report has said that almost no water is being released for the river from the Wazirabad barrage in Delhi.
The 10 cumecs water now being released (how regularly even this is being released is also a question) is inadequate as most of it evaporates or percolates soon after it is released. The committee has asked the Union Jal Shakti Minister to take urgent steps in this direction. In fact, the committee should have given a time limit for this. We hope these urgent steps will be taken soon.
Continue reading “DRP NB 120224: Report of Parl Com on Yamuna wants 23 cumecs water in the river”
DRP News Bulletin 12 Dec 2016 (The interest is not in irrigation but in constructing assets- says Water Secretary)
In an interview with The Third Pole, Shashi Shekhar, secretary in the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation discussed the problems and prospects of India’s water sector. A number of issues which SANDRP and several other water experts and environmentalists have been calling attention to for decades were affirmed by the ‘man behind the scene’.
Perhaps most importantly he reiterated what he admitted at India Rivers Week held in Delhi in Last week of November that the ‘politician-bureaucrat-contractor nexus’ was the “biggest bane of India’s water sector”.
Pinpointing to the average gap of about 45% between irrigation potential and actual irrigation he said- “The interest is not in irrigation but in constructing assets because that is where the money is. All the states have sizeable budgets for this. After all that, the total (canal) irrigated area in the country is 10-15%. So why should it get such vast resources? It does so because the contractor is interested, and there are below the table payments. This is the problem.” Continue reading “DRP News Bulletin 12 Dec 2016 (The interest is not in irrigation but in constructing assets- says Water Secretary)”
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