DRP 120224: Report of Parl Com on Yamuna wants 23 cumecs water in the river

February 12, 2024February 28, 2026 SANDRP1 Comment

(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.

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Yamuna River

यमुना मंथन 07 फरवरी 2024: नदी संरक्षण, पुनरुत्थान के अपर्याप्त प्रयास

February 7, 2024February 8, 2024 SANDRPLeave a comment

(वज़ीराबाद बैराज, दिल्ली के समीप यमुना नदी. भीम सिंह रावत/SANDRP, 09 जनवरी 2024)

(यमुना जिये अभियान के संयोजक स्वर्गीय मनोज मिश्रा द्वारा किये गए यमुना संरक्षण कार्यों की विरासत को आगे बढ़ाते हुए, SANDRP यमुना नदी से संबंधित समसामयिक मुद्दों पर समाचार रिपोर्टों और अन्य सूचनाओं का फरवरी 2024 से संकलन प्रकाशित कर रहा है। यह इस श्रृंखला का पहला संकलन है और हम इसे हर महीने के पहले बुधवार को जारी करने का प्रयास करेंगे। इसका का मुख्य उद्देश्य राष्ट्रीय नदी गंगा की सबसे बड़ी सहायक नदी यमुना को प्रभावित करने वाले सभी विषयों की निगरानी, दस्तावेजीकरण एवं शोध करना और सभी संबंधित पक्षों को नदी की जमीनी स्थितियों से अवगत और समस्याओं के प्रति जागरूक करना है। आप सभी से इसे पढ़ने, साँझा करने और बेहतर बनाने हेतु सुझाव देने का निवेदन है।)

संसद की जल संसाधन पर स्थायी समिति (2023-24) ने 06 फरवरी 2024 को संसद में ‘दिल्ली तक ऊपरी यमुना नदी की सफाई परियोजनाओं की समीक्षा और दिल्ली में नदी तल प्रबंधन’ शीर्षक से अपनी रिपोर्ट जारी की है। इस रिपोर्ट में यमुना नदी को प्रभावित करने वाले कई मुद्दों की जमीनी स्थिति को विस्तार से प्रस्तुत किया गया है और इनके निराकरण के लिए सम्बंधित विभागों, सरकारों को कई सिफारिशें की हैं। नीचे दी गई मीडिया रिपोर्ट्स में इन बिंदुओं का जिक्र किया गया है। हम जल्द इस रिपोर्ट की एक विस्तृत समीक्षा भी अलग से प्रकाशित करेंगे।

मोटे तौर पर, रिपोर्ट में पाया गया है कि हरियाणा के हथिनी कुंड बैराज के नीचे की ओर यमुना नदी में अपर्याप्त प्रवाह है और इसे 10 क्यूमेक्स (क्यूबिक मीटर प्रति सेकंड) से बढ़ाकर 23 क्यूमेक्स करने की आवश्यकता है जैसा कि राष्ट्रीय जल विज्ञान संस्थान ने अपने हालिया अध्ययन में पहले ही सिफारिश की है। रिपोर्ट में नदी सफाई परियोजनाओं की धीमी गति और यमुना नदी के पानी की गुणवत्ता में कोई महत्वपूर्ण सुधार नहीं होने पर भी प्रकाश डाला गया है क्योंकि हिमाचल प्रदेश, उत्तराखंड, हरियाणा, दिल्ली और उत्तर प्रदेश में फैले 33 स्थानों में से केवल 10 स्थानों पर यमुना की पानी की गुणवत्ता निर्धारित मानदंडों के अनुसार पाया गया है।

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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 220124: Welcome news about Rainfall related issues

January 22, 2024February 28, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

There are a number of welcome developments this week related to rainfall. Firstly, forecasters say that the El Nino may start weakening from Feb and may weaken by June 2024 and neutralize thereafter. This can possibly mean good rainfall in SW Monsoon 2024.

Second bit of welcome development is that IMD, on turning 150, has declared that it will set up more doppler radars, rainfall measuring stations and use supercomputers to predict state and district level rainfall, currently it only does at national and four regions.

The study of tehsil level rainfall trends over the last four decades is the third piece of welcome development on rainfall. We need many more studies like this, possibly from IMD itself. More details given below.

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DRP News Bulletin

DRP 150124: The Catchment degradation in Cauvery Basin

January 15, 2024February 28, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

The study by Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore has brought to light one of the key reasons for the water problems of Cauvery basin: 12850 Sq km of Cauvery basin has lost natural vegetation over the fifty years between 1965 and 2016. The trend is likely to have continued, possibly at an accelerated pace in the eight years since 2016. It may be useful to assess the hydrological implications of this massive destruction of the Cauvery basin.

SANDRP has been highlighting that the reason for the more frequent floods and followed by water scarcity and drought, in spite of somewhat increased rainfall under changing climate is exactly this, the degradation of the Cauvery catchment, including destruction of local water bodies, groundwater recharging mechanisms and natural vegetation.

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DRP News Bulletin

DRP 080124: Supreme Court stays Sham post facto clearances

January 8, 2024February 28, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: A Ramganga tributary before joining the river at Marchula, Ramnagar in Nov. 2022. Bhim Singh Rawat/SANDRP)

Post facto environment clearances are indeed a sham as the Hindustan Times Edit has said. It is welcome that the Supreme Court of India has stayed, on Jan 2, 2024, the MoEF memorandums allowing such post facto environmental clearances. Following a petition filed by the Mumbai based environmental group Vanashakti, the sham practice that has been going on since March 2017. Such clearances are clearly contradictory, in letter and spirit to the prior environment clearances as required under the EIA notification of 2006.

The Sham practice should have been stayed much earlier, for example when the Madras High Court gave an interim stay on the MoEF notification of 2017. But unfortunately, the Supreme Court then interpreted that the Madras High Court order will only be limited to Tamil Nadu. Or it may have been stayed earlier by NGT.

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DRP News Bulletin

DRP NB 010124: Looking back at 2023 as we welcome 2024

January 1, 2024January 1, 2024 SANDRP1 Comment

As we welcome the new year on its first day, it is also worth looking back at the year just gone by. Some of the major trends of 2023, relevant to us here were: Larger number of dam disasters, including spillway disasters and hydropower project disasters; more severe dam flood instances including in Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, among others; rather low hydropower generation, raising questions about dependability of hydropower projects; very huge number of pump storage projects getting sanctioned by the Expert Appraisal Committee of MoEF on River Valley Projects, raising question mark over their viability; record breaking high temperatures and changing rainfall patterns with 5.5% deficit rainfall in SW Monsoon and 19% below normal rains in Post Monsoon period; increasing trend of unregulated sand mining with media more frequently using the term sand mafia; increasing instances of disastrous urban floods including Bangalore, Chennai and Delhi; river front development getting pushed even as people’s protests like in Pune increasing; question marks about compromised decisions of the Expert Appraisal Committee that includes people involved in conflict of interest.

There have also been numerous positive developments, including the successful mission to rescue the 41 workers trapped in Silkyara tunnel even though question mark about the disaster remains; High Court asking that the reports related to the sinking Joshimath; Meghal river revival effort by communities in Gujarat as reported in this bulletin; Dibang Resistance getting the Bhagirath Prayas Samman and beginning of decommissioning of the biggest dam in US, among others.

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DRP News Bulletin

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

December 18, 2023February 23, 2026 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 271123: India Rivers Week 2023

November 27, 2023February 27, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

(IRW 2023 organizers, participants visiting Pun RFD project on Nov. 26, 2023. Image Source: India Rivers Forum)

The Tenth India River Week function was organized at BAIF, Pune on Nov 25-26, 2023, with participation of over a hundred people. The focus of the event was on Pune River Front Development (RFD), being pushed by Pune Municipal Corporation, and RFD in other cities around India, and it was strongly critiqued and opposed at the meeting, including by Bhagirath Prayas Samman winners Sarang Yadwadkar and Jeevit Nadi. A field visit of the participants was also organized to the proposed site of the work of the project. (Also see: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/greens-criticize-approval-rfd-project-pune/articleshow/105523479.cms)

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Fish, Fisheries, Fisherfolk

WFD 2023: Untreated Effluents with Non-existent Regulation Killing Inland Fish En-Masse

November 21, 2023November 22, 2023 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Fish in large number killed in Krishna river in Sangli in March 2023 due to untreated industrial effluents discharge. Image Source: ToI)

On occasion of World Fisheries Day 2023, incidents of mass fish death in rivers and water bodies in India during past one year are compiled here. The report highlights how untreated effluents from industrial and domestic sources with non-existent regulation have been primarily responsible for most of the en masse fish kill incidents across the country. In the first part of the series, we have covered the positive developments related to fish, fisherfolks and fisheries. And in the second part, we have covered the ongoing resistance and struggles of Indian fishers against developmental projects endangering their survival and livelihoods.

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