Hydropower

Guest Post by: Parineeta Dandekar

At the first sight, Daarche Paani (‘water at the doors’) appears unreal.. on a small flat plateau called ‘Sadaa’ in konkan, an elegant cobbled walkway leads a puzzled visitor to stairs carved in stone, which go down to an ancient grove, and here is an intricate system of tanks, channels and falls which supplies water to the Panderi village and goes down as a free flowing stream, to irrigate a plantation of arecanut, pepper and mangoes in a village called Gudaghe. When I visited the place, I could see three eminent visitors, a silent lady washing her load of clothes, a fairy bluebird splashing at a tank and a huge moonmoth in one of the trees.

Stone walkway and ancient mango trees leading to Daarche Paani.
Photo: Parineeta Dandekar

The scarcity value of natural resources has risen due to rising pressure of human population and demands made by modern economics progress. As such managing these resources has become very important.

This report by Kalpavriksh, Aaranyak and ActionAid India deals with the large dams’ juggernaut, which happens to be the biggest ‘development’ intervention in this ecologically and geologically fragile, seismically active and culturally sensitive region in the coming days. With the Northeast identified as India’s ‘future powerhouse’ and at least 168 large hydroelectric projects set to majorly alter the riverscape, large dams are emerging as a major issue of conflict in the region.

Although the current scale of dam-related developments far outstrips anything which took place in the past, the region has been no stranger to dam-related conflicts. For example, the Kaptai dam, built in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) in the 1960s, submerged the traditional homelands of the Hajong and Chakma indigenous communities, and forced them to migrate into parts of Northeast India.

This report by MoEF regarding the environmental impact of Phata-Byung & Singoli-Bhatwari hydro power projects on the river Mandakini deals with the additional safeguards and proper monitoring & supervision to help protect the environment in these project areas. It says that since a fairly large portion of the works has been taken up it may not be worth to abandon the project. It has proposed certain remedial measures to mitigate the damage if caused to the environment and local villagers. 

The Phata-Byung and Singoli-Bhatwari hydro power projects, are Run of the River (RoR) projects on the river Mandakini. The series of RoR projects proposed and under construction as a part of cascade development are to generate electrical energy which is considered to be clean power as it is non-polluting and renewable in nature.

The Dam Safety bill, 2010 introduced in the Lok Sabha in August 2010 and approved by the cabinet earlier this year was referred to the Standing Committee on Water Resources, which was scheduled to submit its report within three months. The bill which is still pending seeks to provide for the surveillance, inspection and operation of all dams of certain parameters to ensure their safe functioning.

Forwarded to the portal by: Manshi Asher
Content Courtesy: Himvani
Author: Renuka Bandh Sangharsh Samiti

Despite protest against forced acquisition of land, Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (HPPCL) and revenue administration today notified Section 9 of the Land Acquisition Act 1894, for approximately 680 big has (about 57 hectares) of land of Panaar Village for the Renuka Dam Project. In a letter to the Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court sent today, activists appealed for a stay on land acquisition for the project, considering the uncertainty surrounding the project.

Forwarded to the Portal by: Himanshu Thakkar
Article and Image Courtesy: SANDRP
Author: Himanshu Thakkar

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s forthcoming India visit (15-17 Dec 2010) provides another useful opportunity for India to be firm and forthright with China on India’s concerns about Chinese dam and hydropower projects on the shared rivers, including in the Brahmaputra basin. The importance of this issue cannot be underscored considering that this issue has been raised in the Parliament several times, even the Prime Minister has had to make clarifications in the recent past, the people and governments of several states, including Assam and Arunachal Pradesh have been agitated about this. India’s Planning Commission, Environment, Water Resources and Power Ministries have also been raising these concerns.

Content Courtesy: Solution Exchange and Nitya Jacob
Author: Nitya Jacob

India’s arteries are choking. Her rivers, the lifeline of hundreds of millions, are over-taxed, polluted and encroached. They are being mined, dammed and emptied of water. Save for the four monsoon months, most rivers are streams of drains, depending on how many cities they pass through. This year people gaped in awe at the River Yamuna (I am sure they were over-awed by other rivers elsewhere too) as for the first time since 1978 looked like a river and not a drain.

This paper by the World Resources Institute outlines potential water-related risks facing the mining industry and highlights important gaps in water-related disclosure. The purpose is to provide information, questions, and tools to help the financial community better evaluate water-related risks facing mining companies.