(Feature Image: Yamuna river downstream Okhla barrage in Delhi on Jan 29, 2025. Bhim Singh Rawat/SANDRP)
Political blame games surrounding the Delhi assembly election have brought Yamuna in focus for about past one month. Disappointingly, the central and all state govts in basin are responsible for continual degradation of river and none of the parties have offered practical solutions to improve the condition of the river in the national capital.
It’s a fact that the pollution from Haryana drains, namely Dhanaura Escape in Karnal, Drain No 2 in Panipat and Drain No. 6 and 8 in Sonipat have been bringing untreated effluents in increasing amounts in the river upstream of Delhi, ultimately severely crippling the Wazirabad barrage based potable water supply in the city. In addition to diversion of river waters for industrial, irrigational and potable demands from Hathni Kund Barrage, increasing unsustainable mechanized mining for about past eight years have been ruining lean season flows in the river in upper segment. The concerned central govt departments and Haryana government are required to address these issues effectively as part of a solution to improve the health of river in Delhi.
(Feature Image: Instream mechanized mining going on in Yamuna river at Gumthala Rao near Karnal-Yamuna Nagar border in Haryana in Oct. 2024. Source: Yamauna Nadi Mitra Mandli)
This twelfth edition of monthly Yamuna updates and the first one of the new year 2025, rounds up the critical issues impacting the river eco-system during the past year. The updates of the past one month only hint towards the bleak future the river is heading to. Without addressing the adverse effects and exploring cost effective alternatives, foundation stones of two massive river interlinking projects namely Ken-Betwa and Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal have been laid. The work of unjustifiable Renuka and Lakhwar dams in climatically sensitive and geologically fragile region of Himalaya is going on.
Yamuna the largest tributary of National River Ganga has already been succumbing on account of dams, hydro projects, unsustainable riverbed mining and ever-increasing pollution load in Himalayan, upper and middle segments. Despite this, the river has managed to be in better shape and size in its lower segment mainly due to its tributaries network including Chambal, Sind, Kali Sindh, Betwa, Ken etc. However, now there are river interlinking plans threatening the remaining relatively flowing and living stretch of the river in this very lower segment.
The push for country’s so called first river interlinking plan namely Ken-Betwa River interlinking is going on ignoring the norms, clearances and better viable alternatives. Now, the state governments of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have signed agreement to prepare DPR for Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal (PKC) river interlinking under modified Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP).
The central government has termed the project of national importance and would share the 90 precent of it cost. The entire project is estimated to cost Rs. 72,000 crore and claimed to be built in 5 years. The project proposes interlinking of 6 Chambal rivers namely Parbati, Kalisindh, Kshipra, Kuno, Lakhunder, Mej, Kyul by at least 17 big and small dams and barrages.
It seems Rajasthan state is ignored and is silent as Madhya Pradesh is going ahead with massive water resources development projects in interstate ChambalRiver basin. Some of these projects were even part of the interstate projects discussed for several years between the two states and now Madhya Pradesh is going ahead with them unilaterally. Mohanpura and Kundaliya projects were also part of the ParbatiKalisindh ChambalRiver link, one of the priority links of Union Government, but now MP is going ahead with them without any consultation with Rajathan or Government. In response to SANDRP questions, Madhya Pradesh responded, as recorded in the minutes of 68th meeting of EAC held in Sept 2013, “It was clarified that the NWDA scheme has not been accepted by the M.P. Government and is not likely to be implemented in the near future. The M. P. Government wants immediate implementation of Mohanpura Project”.
Lift irrigation project in NCS. Source: SANDRP partners
Not only that, the MP has ten times increased the size of the projects, which will have huge, unassessed downstream impacts on people, river and environment. The interstate National Chambal Sanctuary (NCS) will also be seriously adversely affected, but the downstream Rajasthan seems neither consulted nor concerned.
Gharial resting on a sand bank with Indian Cormorants and Lesser Whistling-ducks in NCS Source: SANDRP partners
Below we have given some information about some of the projects that have come up for clearance before the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests’ Expert Appraisal Committee on River Valley Projects (the meeting number and date of meetings are given) over the last couple of years. All of these projects are in Chambal basin in Madhya Pradesh and are being taken up without consent of or consultation with state or people of Rajasthan.
Mohanpura Major Irrigation Project
Dist/ State
Rajgarh / Madhya Pradesh
River/ Basin
Newaj
Proposal
TOR
Developer
Water Resource Department, Bhopal, Govt of Madhya Pradesh
Height of Dam (m)
47.90
Drinking water supply
20 MCM
Industrial Water Supply
60 MCM
CCA (Ha)
65,000
Submergence area (Ha)
7051
Area required (Ha)
NA
Villages affected
36 (1800 families) (10,240 persons)
ForestLand
NO
Decision
52nd Meeting (16-17.09.2011)
Decided that some additional information may be submitted
53rd Meeting (11-12.11.2011)
No effective discussion on the parameters of the project could be made and it was decided that the project shall be discussed again along with the information submitted by the M.P. Govt.
54th Meeting (26-27.12.2011)
Recommended scoping clearance and TORs with the same comments and observations made for Kundaliya Project.
This Mohanpura project (for more information on this, see: https://sandrp.wordpress.com/2013/11/15/mohanpura-dam-in-madhya-pradesh/) have been under discussed in the EAC now for full environment clearance and does not include any reference to Rajasthan, interstate aspects, downstream impacts, or impact on Chambal River of National Chambal Sanctuary. Some details in this respect are given below.
Much bigger Mohanpura Reservoir proposed compared to the PKC proposal It is clear from the perusal of the Feasibility Report of the PKC link given on the NWDA website that the project now proposed by the Govt of Madhya Pradesh is much bigger and an unviable scheme. The Gross and live storage of the NWDA scheme is 140 MCM and 52.5 MCM, where as the proposal now has gross storage of 616.27 MCM and live storage of 539.42 MCM, which means the live storage proposed now is more than ten times the live storage proposed in NWDA scheme. In fact the NWDA scheme had the proposal to transfer 464 MCM from the Patanpur Dam to the Mohanpura dam and yet, under the Mohanpura live storage capacity proposed under NWDA scheme was much smaller.
Location map of the Mohanpura Project (Source: Project EIA)
Interstate aspects ignored The project is coming up on an interstate river basin and will have clear implications for the downstream state of Rajasthan, but there is no mention of this in the EIA. Several meetings have also happened between Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan about the PKC link mentioned above. The Government of India has prioritized this link, but by taking up this project unilaterally without consent of Rajasthan or Centre (Ministry of Water Resources) the Madhya Pradesh government is violating the interstate and federal norms. The EIA does not even mention any of these issues.
Kundaliya Major Irrigation Project
Dist/ State
Rajgarh and Shajapur Districts/ Madhya Pradesh
River/ Basin
Kalisindh
Proposal
TOR
Developer
Water Resource Department, Bhopal, Govt of Madhya Pradesh
Height of Dam (m)
44.50
Drinking water supply
18 MCM
Industrial Water Supply
84MCM
Diversion
1037 cumecs of LakhundarRiver to river Kalisindh
Live storage capacity
495.20 MCM
CCA (Ha)
58040
Catchment Area (sq km)
4900
Submergence area (Ha)
7476
Villages affected
56 (8630 persons)
Forest land
680 ha
Decision
52nd Meeting (16-17.09.2011)
Desired some more info.
53rd Meeting (11-12.11.2011)
It was decided that the project shall be discussed again along with the information submitted by the M.P. Govt. The Committee felt that considerable area of forest land is to be submerged in the project (680 ha). The forest maps provided as a part of additional information lack clarity.
54th Meeting (26-27.12.2011)
Recommended scoping clearance and TORs with some suggestions/comments.
Kalisindh Major irrigation project
Dist/ State
Sajapur/ Madhya Pradesh
River/ Basin
Kalisindh
Proposal
TOR
Developer
Water Resources Department, Govt of Madhya Pradesh
CCA
49023
Submergence area (Ha)
4239
Area Req (Ha)
4919
Village affected
15 (2384 PAFs)
Decision
61st Meeting (12-13.10.2012)
Sought some additional information.
62nd Meeting (23-24.11.2012)
Recommended clearance for pre-construction activities and TOR with some additional TORs.
It is high time Rajasthan government and people wake up to this reality of upstream developments and write to Madhya Pradesh, Union Ministry of Environment and Forests and also Union Water Resources Ministry against these developments.
SANDRP 