DRP 060524: Study on dam induced river flooding in Peninsular India

May 6, 2024February 28, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: (a) Locations of streamflow gauges with catchment boundaries in six major river basins of Peninsular India, (b) elevation map and mean annual maximum runoff rate (streamflow per unit catchment area), (c) Aridity Index (AI) and (d) Baseflow Index (BFI). The maps in first row are prepared in QGIS (Version 2.14.0 ‘Essen’ (2016), URL: http://qgis.org) and the maps in second row are generated using R (Version 4.2.2 (2022), URL: https://www.R-project.org/). Source: Baseflow significantly contributes to river floods in Peninsular India )

A recently published study, see details given below throws light on the role of groundwater contribution to baseflow in rivers and their flooding in Peninsular India’s river like Narmada, Tapi, Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Cauvery. The found that while baseflow contributes more to river flows, its share in the flood event flow magnitude decreases as surface runoff accounts for a larger proportion of flood discharge on the day of the flood.

Most significant are the findings related to dam induced flood that SANDRP has been writing for long and the finding corroborate exactly what SANDRP has been saying: Sudden releases of water from a dam can raise river levels during extreme rainfall events, especially when the dam is nearly full. The impact of sudden floods is more destructive because people living in nearby areas are often unprepared. Without a dam, floodwaters rise slowly over time, allowing people to take preventive measures. However, sudden floods caused by dam releases offer little or no time to prepare, increasing the risks associated with dam-induced flood hazards. Furthermore, the construction of dams alters the natural regime of rivers, leading to changes in sediment transport and erosion patterns. These changes can heighten the risk of flooding downstream from a dam.

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Yamuna River

Yamuna Manthan 0524: SC Stays 4 NBWL cleared Dams in Kalesar Wildlife Sanctuary

May 2, 2024May 2, 2024 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Google Earth Image showing location of 6 proposed dams in Kalesar national park area by Haryana government)

In a welcome judicial intervention, the Supreme Court on April 24, 2024 has stayed building of four dams inside Kalesar National Park in Yamuna Nagar district of Haryana. Issuing notices to Centre and Haryana governments, the apex court noted that the dams namely Chikan, Kansli, Khillanwala and Ambawali would not achieve the intended purposes and would prove detrimental to wildlife, biota and eco-system of the National Park.

Disappointingly the National Board of Wildlife (NBWL) had approved the dams ignoring the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) report warning about adverse impacts of these dams on the terrestrial as well as aquatic biodiversity in the protected area. As per the WII report, the Irrigation Department, Haryana had planned building of six dams costing about Rs. 125 cr. on streams feeding Pathrala river in the national park.

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DRP News Bulletin

DRP 290424: Why is Climate Change not major election issue?

April 29, 2024February 28, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Vehicles stuck in debris following a recent cloudburst at Saat Meel in Mandi, on August 20, 2023. (PTI Photo/Money Control)

World’s largest democratic exercise is now ongoing in India to elect the members of India’s Lok Sabha. Over 97 crores are eligible to vote in these elections. One of the biggest factors that is adversely affecting people across India currently is Climate Change. It is affecting almost every aspect of life and the adverse impacts are only increasing with every passing year. This is man-made disaster basically happening due to anthropogenic reasons, affecting air, water, climate, food, health, livelihoods, disasters and so on, affecting everyone. Currently, India is also a major contributor to the climate change causing green-house gas emissions, even though historically, the developed countries have contributed much more.

More importantly, the development options that the elected government choose will decide how the people will be impacted by climate change. The government has large number of options for pathways to development. Considering all this, one expected that climate change responses will be a major issue in these elections. But that is clearly not the case. BJP and Congress, two of the biggest parties fighting the elections, have mentioned climate change in their manifestos, but neither has dealt with this important issue with the detail and seriousness required. Nor are any of them making climate change a major election issue. One expects the ruling party to at least respond in greater detail and seriousness to this issue, but that is not the case.

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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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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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DRP News Bulletin

DRP 250324: Celebrating 50 years of Chipko Movement and Message

March 25, 2024February 28, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: A photo taken in March 1974 of people in Raini village, Uttarakhand, a few days after they protested against the felling of trees in order to make tennis racquets. Source: Varsha Singh/Third Pole report dated 30 Nov. 2022. The original photograph was taken on 30 March, 1974 by Chandi Prasad Bhatt and has been reproduced in The Third Pole with permission)

As we celebrate the golden jubilee of Chipko Movement, one of the most iconic and memorable environmental movements of India, we need to remember the key messages of the movement. It may seem gloomy situation at the place where the movement originated in Raini village in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. In fact, as we travel from Raini to Chamoli to Uttarakhand and beyond, as far as environmental situation is concerned, there is not too much around us to celebrate about.

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Dams, Rivers & People · DRP News Bulletin

DRP 180324: Electoral Bonds disclosures confirm political economy of large dams

March 18, 2024February 28, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: A controversy over alleged engineering lapses in the ₹1 lakh cr Kaleshwaram project on Godavari triggered an electoral slugfest. HT, 03 Nov. 2023)

The Electoral bonds details now in public domain, thanks to the Supreme Court of India orders, has once again highlighted the political economy of large dams, hydropower projects and irrigation projects. It has once again confirmed what was publicly known that such large water projects involve kickbacks to political parties.

The details so far available involves companies like Megha Engineering, Rithwick Projects Pvt Ltd, Navayuga Engineering Company Ltd, among others. The projects so far that seems to be involved include Polavaram Dam, Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project, Sunni Dam and Hydro projects, Kundah Pump Storage Hydropower project in Tamil Nadu and Silkyara Tunnel, almost all of them also involved in some kind of disaster or other.

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Yamuna River

Yamuna Parliamentary Committee Report Missing on River Governance

March 12, 2024October 23, 2024 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Solid waste strewn along east bank of polluted river Yamuna near Geeta Colony bridge, Delhi on March 09, 2024. Bhim Singh Rawat/SANDRP)

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Water Resources has submitted its 27^th report titled “Review of Upper Yamuna River Cleaning Projects upto Delhi and Riverbed Management in Delhi” to the Parliament on 6 Feb 2024. The 113 paged report has two parts first on Narration and second on Observation and 25 Recommendations. The first part of the report has XI chapters dealing with various issues of River Yamuna.

SANDRP here presents a detailed chapter wise overview of the key observations made by the Committee based on the replies mainly from Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation (DoWR, RD & GR) along with the Committee’s recommendations and some comments by SANDRP.

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Dams, Rivers & People

DRP 110324: Bangalore reminds us: Ignore groundwater at your own peril

March 11, 2024February 28, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: People stand in a queue with water cans to get drinking water at Jnana Jyothi Nagar, in Bengaluru. Image Source: PTI/Live Mint, 10 March 2024)

One central lesson of the ongoing Bangalore water crisis is essentially that ignore groundwater sustainability at your own peril. The surface water availability in Bangalore has not decreased, it is the groundwater depletion that is leading to crisis. There is of course the expansion of the city both horizontally and vertically that is increasing demands, but simple arithmetic tells us that if groundwater levels are sustained, it can take care of these increased demands.

The Groundwater sustainability includes sustaining the groundwater recharge and ensuring that extraction does not go past the recharge. Sustaining the groundwater recharge means first understanding the groundwater recharge mechanisms, zones and protecting them. BDA has been sitting for four years on desilting of two lakes: Bellandur and Varthur, which has caused huge impact on groundwater depletion. It also means increasing the groundwater recharge through rainwater harvesting (Bangalore’s failure here is apparent from the fact that government is collecting crores of rupees as fines from those not following the mandatory rainwater harvesting requirements), groundwater recharge wells and diverting tertiary treated sewage, available in Bangalore of upto 300 Million Liters per Day, to lakes and other such recharge zones.

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