Delhi July 2023 Floods: Parliamentary Committee Report Raises More Questions

February 20, 2024February 20, 2024 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Waterlogged Red Fort after heavy rainfall and rising Yamuna river water level in New Delhi on Friday (July 14, 2023). Image Credit: ANI/Gulf News)

In absence of any official report so far, the causes behind unusual flood spell in Delhi in July 2023 remains to be fully explained, understood and addressed. Amid this, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Water Resources in its 27^th report which was presented in Lok Sabha on February 06, 2024 has in a welcome step, deliberated on the issue under Chapter X titled “Role of Barrages on River Yamuna and Flood Management in Delhi” (60 to 66 pages) and has recommended some measures (page 86-88) to avoid its reoccurrence.

A careful reading of the chapter has only compounded the flood mystery and thrown some questions on the operation and management of Wazirabad and ITO barrages. The report has also revealed some contradictory and confusing statements by Central Water Commission (CWC), Upper Yamuna River Board (UYRB) and Haryana Government.

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DRP News Bulletin,16 July 2018: Dam Safety Is Needed, Can We Depend On CWC Engineers Alone?

July 16, 2018July 30, 2018 SANDRPLeave a comment

India certainly urgently needs credible measures to achieve both structural and operational safety of dams. As the HINDUSTAN TIMES editorial emphasizes, we need much greater transparency, accountability and participation of independent, non government experts at every level of functioning of Dam Safety mechanism. Current Dam Safety Bill draft falls far short of that. This is also underscored by many of the news we bring in this July 16, 208 issue of DRP News Bulletin.

The Tamil Nadu CAG report, as Indian Express reports, has clearly said that the Chennai floods of Dec 2015 were majorly due to the wrong decision of dam operators to release 29000 cusecs of water for 21 hours, in violation of all safety norms, but no was punished for this wrong decision. The same has always been the case.

The Bulletin also brings the warning from, no less than Chief Minister of Assam to NEEPCO that if NEEPCO, the operator of the 405 MW Ranganadi Dam releases water from the dam without warning and when downstream areas are facing floods, they will have to bear the losses people suffer. Continue reading “DRP News Bulletin,16 July 2018: Dam Safety Is Needed, Can We Depend On CWC Engineers Alone?” →

Dams · Dams, Rivers & People

How India Measures Water Storages

July 13, 2018July 13, 2018 SANDRP1 Comment

Govt and media typically report the status of water storage in India using the CWC’s Weekly Reservoir Storage Bulletin, which contain information about just 91 reservoirs in India. In this article we show that the state websites provide information about huge 3863 reservoirs, which even if not sufficient, is a huge improvement over just 91 reservoirs that CWC bulletin includes. We hope all concerned will try to improve the reservoir storage reporting.

It should be added here that this measures only surface water stored in some of the large reservoirs of India. This excludes large number of big reservoirs, lakhs of smaller reservoirs, groundwater aquifers and soil moisture storage. In spite of these limitations, this provides more accurate picture than just the 91 reservoirs of CWC that everyone in India, including media, govt monitoring and policy makers look at.

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Dams · DRP News Bulletin

DRP News Bulletin 18 June 2018 (Why this Onslaught of Big Dam Advocacy by CWC Ideologues?)

June 18, 2018June 18, 2018 SANDRPLeave a comment

In a recent article Ashwin B Pandya, Former, Chairman Central Water Commission (CWC) refuses to acknowledge either the adverse impacts of dams or the better option of using groundwater aquifer for storing water. And thus making unscientific arguments against dam decommissioning and for dams. No one is talking of removal ALL dams as the author seems to postulate and then dismiss it as impossible and irresponsible.

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Dams

Maharashtra Rivers Review 2017: Multi-colored Rivers!

March 8, 2018March 14, 2018 SANDRP3 Comments

About Rivers Pollution and Pollution Control Board

Highest number of polluted rivers Maharashtra state has 49 polluted river stretches, highest in the country, which including Mithi, Ulhas, Vaitarna, Godavari, Bhima, Krishna, Tapi, Kundalika, Panchganga, Mula-Mutha, Pelhar and Penganga. 3,000 MLD of untreated sewage and industrial effluents are discharged into the state’s water bodies daily. http://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-news/pollution-in-three-maharashtra-rivers-is-nine-times-permissible-limit/story-RCuTrl8zi8tmFoOvgKR2zI.html(Hindustan Times, 16 Nov. 2017)

According to a report by Union Environment Ministry, Maharashtra generates about 8,143 Million Liter per Day (MLD) which is almost 13 per cent of the country’s sewage, butclaims to treats 5,160.36 MLD.In this way Maharashtra is releasing at least 3000 MLD untreated sewage in rivers, creeks and wetlands areas. http://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-news/834-factories-across-maharashtra-shut-down-in-2-years-for-causing-pollution-mpcb/story-MrmmXa9XH9Vdkzu2wKSdcL.html (Hindustan Times, 22 Dec 2017)

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Dams · Wetlands

India Wetlands Review 2017: Important Court Orders

February 3, 2018February 3, 2018 SANDRPLeave a comment

SUPREME COURT The Supreme Court of India is hearing a matter Writ Petition(s)(Civil) No(s). 230/2001 in which there have been several orders of consequence this year (e.g. 8 Feb 2017 & 16 Aug 2017) for protection of wetlands. In spite of several directions for identification, preparation of brief documents, implementation of rules 4, notification of wetlands under the Wetlands Rules 2010, hardly any progress has happened.

Rule 4 of Wetlands Rules 2010 applicable to Wetlands of size ≥2.25 ha

“National Wetland Inventory & Assessment” was filed in SC. This Brochure indicates on page 11 that 2,01,503 wetlands have been mapped at 1:50,000 scale. All these wetlands have ‘an area of more than 2.25 hectares’. As a first step, the ‘Brief Documents’ with regard to these 2,01,503 wetlands should be obtained by the Union of India from the respective State Governments in terms of Rule 6 of the Wetlands (Conservation and management) Rules, 2010.

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Dams · Environment Impact Assessment · Ministry of Environment and Forests · Ministry of Water Resources · Nepal · Public Hearing

Cancel Pancheshwar Dam Public Hearings: It involves too many violations and illegalities

August 10, 2017August 10, 2017 SANDRPLeave a comment

From: SANDRP,

50-D, AD block, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi 88

we4earth@gmail.com, https://sandrp.wordpress.com/

August 11 2017

1. District Magistrate,

Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand

dm-pit-ua@nic.in

2. Chairman/ Regional office incharge,

Uttarakhand Environment Protection and Pollution Control Board,

Dehradun, dkjoshi21@yahoo.com

COPY to: 1. IA Division (River Valley Projects) MoEF, Delhi

2. Chairman and Members of Expert Appraisal Committee on River Valley Projects

Respected Members of Public Hearing Panel for Pancheshwar Dam,

The public hearing now being conducted for the massive Pancheshwar Dam at Pithoragarh today, as part of the requirement under the EIA notification of Sept 2006 is being held in complete violation of letter and spirit of many norms of the EIA notification. Hence these public hearings should be cancelled. They should be rescheduled after appropriate conditions are achieved for the public hearing. Some of the key reasons for this are listed below, but these are not exhaustive reasons, but only a list of key indicative reasons. Continue reading “Cancel Pancheshwar Dam Public Hearings: It involves too many violations and illegalities” →

Dams · DRP News Bulletin

DRP News Bulletin 13 March 2017 (20 Big Hydro Projects Costing Over 30K Crore, Stalled & Stressed: Piyush Goyal)

March 13, 2017March 14, 2017 SANDRPLeave a comment

20 hydro projects stalled or stressed The Power Minister Piyush Goyal on March 09, 2017 in a written statement has informed the parliament that as many as 20 under construction HPPs totalling 6,329 MW are either stalled or stressed in the country and Rs 30,147.08 crore has already been spent on them. These projects include 2,000 MW Subansiri Lower of NHPC Ltd, 500 Mw Teesta VI of Lanco Teesta Hydro Power Ltd, 120 MW Rangit-IV of Jal Power Corp, 300 Mw Panan of Himagiri Hydro Energy Pvt Ltd, 850 MW Ratle of GVK Ratle HEP Pvt Ltd, 100 Mw Sorang of Himachal Sorang Power Ltd and 960 MW Polavaram of Polavaram Project Authority.

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Dams

Ground Water 2016: India’s water lifeline continues to bleed

February 9, 2017 SANDRPLeave a comment

Summer of 2016 saw thirteen Indian states grappling with severest drought greatly fueling the ongoing depletion of aquifers. Then the supposedly surplus southwest monsoon also fell short by 3 per cent further stressing the falling groundwater table. At the same time the pollution of surface water sources, which function as recharge point for ground water, went uninterrupted.

All through the year, Central and many State Governments unveiled several new plans and projects targeting the sustainable consumption of groundwater. The judiciary made various orders to reign in illegal extraction of the finite resource. However, the situation continued to deteriorate.

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CGWB · Groundwater

Submission to Mihir Shah Committee For Restructuring of CWC & CGWB

April 30, 2016April 30, 2016 SANDRP6 Comments

It is proposed that the current CWC and CGWB should be reconstituted along following lines. Encouraged by communication from the committee and MoWR that the suggestions need not be limited by the TORs since TORs are also extendable, I have proposed a new institutional structure that is different than the current one. A brief outline of this was presented at the 6^th meeting of Mihir Shah headed committee on Jan 11, 2016, it is elaborated here further. Continue reading “Submission to Mihir Shah Committee For Restructuring of CWC & CGWB” →