NH66 in Kerala: Built Against Water logic, Designed to Collapse?

July 15, 2025July 15, 2025 SANDRPLeave a comment

Guest Article: Sridhar Radhakrishnan

The collapse of the NH66 highway in Kerala is not yet another accident. It is the result of designing roads without listening to water, terrain, or people. Built in defiance of Kerala’s monsoon logic, paddy-wetland systems, and ecological memory, the highway blocks natural drainage, floods homes, and divides society. From ignored protests to forgotten flood lessons, its collapse is a story of what happens when asphalt arrogance meets a land shaped by rain.

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Yamuna River

Yamuna Manthan 031024: Threatened River Wetlands

October 3, 2024October 3, 2024 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Soor Sarovar Bird Sanctuary, along with the river Yamuna, is considered to be green lung of the Agra city. Source: ToI report Six-member committee to probe development of Agra Trade Centre in Soor Sarovar eco-zone. Nov. 01, 2018)

The waterbodies, lakes, wetlands in Yamuna basin continue to face damages and threats from many quarters, including concerned govt departments. In latest examples of this, there are reports of Uttar Pradesh govt’s plan to reduce the eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) of Keetham lake to zero. The wetlands also known as Sur Sarovar is a large ox bow lake formed by Yamuna River in Agra. It is a protected bird sanctuary and has been designated a Ramsar site in August 2020. In Sept. 2022, the Supreme Court had directed the govt to increase lake’s ESZ to 799 ha from 403 ha.

Similarly, the Uttar Pradesh govt departments have also been delaying process to notify Dhanauri wetlands as a Ramsar site in Greater Noida. The case is going on in NGT (National Green Tribunal) for the past many years. In the recent hearing held on Sept. 26, the NGT asked govt department to explain reasons behind delay in notifying the wetlands apart from directing it to remove water hyacinth chocking the wetlands. The next hearing will be held on Jan. 27, 2025.

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Photo Blog II: Asan Rivers Struggling to Survive in Dehradun

June 25, 2024June 26, 2024 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Asan river being trained near Sumeru Enclave to reclaim river space for road & real estate actvities. Bhim Singh Rawat/SANDRP, May 29, 2024.)

The first part of the photo blog has tried to shed some light on the pathetic condition of water sources, springs and streams forming the Asan River in Dehradun. This second part of the series covers the state of affairs all along remaining length of the river till it joins the Yamuna River.

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Wetlands

WWD 2024: Top Ten Judicial Actions for Wetlands in India

February 1, 2024February 4, 2024 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: A file picture of garbage dumping extending to an additional patch of land at the Pallikaranai marshland. Source: ToI)

The fourth part of the wetlands overview 2023 covers the top ten judicial interventions for the protection of wetlands including Ramsar sites in India. The report shows that the judiciary is increasingly petitioned with legal disputes as the governmental bodies dealing with urban authorities and particularly the regulators have been failing to check unabated pollution and encroachments of the wetlands in their jurisdiction. The legal cases pertaining to encroachments and degradation of Ramsar sites and other wetlands in Himachal Pradesh, J&K, Ladakh, Bhoj lake in Bhopal, Tampara lake in Odisha and Sundarbans in West Bengal clearly indicate the fate of lesser known but equally important water bodies in the country. Overall, the judiciary seems to be finding it tough to stir executioners and unwilling governments and is not equally effective everywhere. However, it has made some landmark orders.

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DRP News Bulletin

DRP NB 181223: Varanasi’s illegal tent city inaugurated by Prime Minister in Jan 2023

December 18, 2023December 18, 2023 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Collage of Sentinel Hub satellite images of Tent City location in Ganga river bed in Varanasi from Nov. 26, 2022 to Dec. 11, 2023)

While the NGT putting a stay on the Varanasi Tent city and imposing a fine of Rs 25000 on MoEF for not responding to NGT about how the turtle sanctuary was denotified is welcome, we hope NGT takes it to its logical conclusion. It is strange, to say the least to see the NMCG telling NGT through its one page report dated Dec 13 2023 that the Varanasi Development Authority proposal dated Nov 28 2023 for tent city is under consideration! The Tent city companies were fined by NGT, but UP PCB is yet to do anything to collect the fine. Most interestingly, the Prime Minister, no less, inaugurated the tent city project on January 13 2023, over 11 months back! And very shockingly, none of the National Media is even reporting this remarkable situation.

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DRP News Bulletin

DRP NB 041223: Groundwater recharge increased in India?

December 4, 2023 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Cover photo of the National Compilation of Dynamic Ground Water Resource Assessment Report by CGWB)

There are at least two headline numbers of Government of India’s Dynamic Groundwater Resource Assessment Report 2023 released by Union Minister on Dec 2 2023, that seem counter intuitive and misleading. These are exactly the issues we also raised about the 2022 report too. Firstly, the PIB Press Release that accompanied the report release says India’s annual groundwater recharge in 2023 has increased by 11.48 BCM compared to the same in 2022.

Secondly, it says the groundwater situation has improved in at least 226 of the 6553 assessment Units across the country. Both seem counter intuitive and possibly misleading in the face of increasing groundwater use, depleting levels, worsening quality of groundwater and our increasing over dependence on groundwater.

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Hydro Disaster

Himachal demands Rs 658 Cr from NHAI for damage to Larji Hydro Project

August 14, 2023August 14, 2023 SANDRP2 Comments

In an unprecedented development[i], the Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has sent a Rs 658-crore damage report to the Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari seeking from National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) compensation for the devastation caused at the 126-MW Larji hydel project allegedly due to the construction of a double-decker four-lane road.

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Dams · Yamuna River

DDA visits Yamuna with SANDRP

August 6, 2020August 7, 2020 SANDRP5 Comments

Following a visit to Yamuna on July 25, SANDRP had written to the Delhi Yamuna Monitoring Committee (DYMC) and concerned agencies about the dumping of construction debris and encroachments on Yamuna riverbed, floodplain at Signature Bridge, Nizamuddin Bridge (Mayur Vihar, Kale Khan side). DYMC has promptly asked Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC, we accompanied them for the inspection visit to the flood plain on July 27, 2020) and Delhi Development Authority (DDA).

On Aug 4, as per the request of DDA, SANDRP accompanied them to the Yamuna floodplain and riverbed along with their official photographer, videographer and measurement team.

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