Narmada and Sardar sarovar
This is a collection of of notes based on web articles, about Narmada and Sardar Sarovar dam.
Acronyms
PAF - project affected families
NWDT-Narmada Water disputes tribunal
NVDA-Narmada Valley developement authority
GRA -grievence redressal authority
R&R-Rehabilitation & Resettlement
NCA-Narmada Control Authoroty
Full Reservoir Level - FRL (max dam height)
MAF - Million Acre feet (unit of water volume to cover million acres, foot deep)
1 hectare - 10000 meter^2. nearly twice floor area of say Geisel library basement.
1 acre - 4046 m^2. nearly floor area of say Geisel library basement.
MP-Madhya pradesh, MH-Maharashtra, GJ-Gujarat
Petition on Narmada
http://petitions.aidindia.org/narmada/
Summary of Hindu report
Minister of water resourses - Saifuddin Soz
Minister of Social justice & empowerment - Meira Kumar
Prithviraj Chouhan
3 union ministers visited rehabilitation sites. on April 9th 2006.
http://www.hindu.com/2006/04/17/stories/2006041705231100.htm
areas in MP-Khalghat, Dharampuri, Lakhangaon, (Borlai, Awalda, Nisarpur, Piplud - these visits were specially requested by NBA)
Khaghat site:
-only 2 families out of 407 PAFs accepted land.
-top soil is black. Need to dig 10feet to find cultivable land.
-Some land totally unarable.
-10 lakhs to each for compensation & land purchase.
-Incometax dept cut 1 lakh from each.
-pressurised to accept cash. Bribe of 20000, for each check.
-Validity: Mohan Lal spoke on behalf of all, in public forum, everyone supported, NVDA did not contrsdict.
Dharampuri:
-4000 PAFs slated to be settled here.
-not single land has been occupied. On paper, already settled!
-no sanitation, sewage, drinking water, no facilities.
-status report of infrastructure showed some projects in progress, nothing actually happening.
Lakhangaon, Borlai
-Borlai, 18000 PAFs reported to have been settled. Only 80 dwellings seen. No amenities. Water reservoir not operational.
-In Lakhangaon 18 PAFs to be settled. Infrastructure present. hospital, school,water pumps.
Piplud
-2000 ppl gathered.
-NWDT promised cultivable land not given. (5acres)
-compensation not enough for even 2 acres
-unarable land
-pressure to accept cash, give bribes,
Awalda
-far flung village inhabited by adiwasis & tribals. all below poverty line
-1500 people met ministers.
-pressure to accept cash, give bribes, enforce without consulting gramsabha
-many people had to live on road
-compensation not enough (e.g. 5 acre land, 5lakhs, 13 lakhs needed to purchase)
-no member of GRA, R&R ever visited this village.
Nisarpur
-4000 people gathered, represented through 18 people.
-not a single family was settled
-700 PAfs to be settled here. Land depressed, gets water logged, drainage missing.
-NVDA claimed site will be ready by June 2006. Tall claim.
-GRA, R&R people never visited for past 6 years
Conclusion of commitee
-Supreme court judgement.
each PAFs given house/plot without cost, and anybody whose more than 25% irrigable land was aquired, will be given irrigable land of its choice. min given will be 2 hectares, max will be some ceiling.
-This has not been justly implemented
-Given immense political will, rehabilitation will take atleast 1 year
-Cash awards breed corruption.
-No justification of 1 lakh income tax
-GRA has 5000 pending pepetions. Chairman sits in bhopal, visits Indore infrequently, causing frustration to oustees.
-concerned about Sc/ST for whom there doesnt seem to be special provision for R&R.
-reports of GRA & R&R on which NCA decided to raise dam height, were largly paperwork, having no relevence to situation on ground.
-Narendra Modi wrote to GOM that R&R can be fully ensured in MP. It is not clear how.
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Supreme court decision
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1494150.cms
Dam height to be raised from 110 to 122 meters. NBA went to supreme court.
SC threatened to stop work if rehabilitation not carried out properly.
Center echoed its will to build dam & achieve rehabilitation.
Plan to ensure rehabilitation in 3 months before monsoon onset.
NBA stand, rehabilitation should have been complete 12 months before submergence.
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Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narmada_River#Sardar_Sarovar_Project
Sardar Sarovar Project
-envisioned by Nehru. 3200 small & large dams on Narmada.
-benefits:hydroelectric power, irrigate arid lands in saurashtra, kutchh, benefits will reach 50 million people
-Criticism: damage to natural ecosystem
-about 250000 oustees, loss of way of life
-dam will block flow to arid regions in MP, Maharashtra, Chhattisgad, Rahasthan.
-fears of earthquake
-World bank withdrew funding siting these reasons
-1999:went to supreme court, ruled in favour of state. It declared
*90mtr height will environmental task force examines the issue
*rehabilitation to all affected. Ruled to halt construction in March 2005 till this happens.
**Current height is 110.6 mtr. Proposed height is 130 mtrs.
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Sardar, Sarovar Company
http://www.sardarsarovardam.org/
*Need for project
-lot of arable land, but water resources concentrated, decreasing potential.
-Energy. Canada, Switzerland, Austria, sweden more than 60% is hydropower. Indian 25-30%
-water deficit areas. poverty, migration, saline, fluoride, nitrite affected water. Need to trasnfer from surplus to deficit areas.
-anual flow of narmada > (rabi+bias+satluj)
-says each project has its cost. But here benefits outweight costs.
-During the hey days of Industrial and Technological revolutions, the mills of economic development of western world ground fast and fine, not caring either for human rights or for ecological consequences. With accumulation of wealth and affluence, finer sentiments of human rights and environment are now surfacing. And what is good for G-7 has to be good for the rest of the World! So our urbanite elite have also adopted human and environmental issues as the State of the Art evaluation angle.
-plight of saurashtra during drought. many villages backwards due to lack of resources.
-Says small dams, watershed developement etc. are irrelevent & inadequate. Only dams give lasting remedy.
-analogy of waters from central USA to arid westeren USA.
*Stats
-Power 1450MW
-reservoir length: 214km, average width 1.77km
-distribution system 40 branches, annual 18 lakh hectare irrigation.
*History
-1969: dispute between MH, MP, Gujrat resolved for distribution of river water. NWDT formed.
~1980: NWDT finalized dam parameters and water & power allocation, project awarded to SS Company.
-1988: Sardar Sarovar Company, owned by Gujrat government constituted, given go ahead in 92.
-1991: submergence village schedules & surveys created
-extent of area available for oustees in Gujrat 75000ha. Out of which 25000 supposed to get benefit of canal irrigation. (made available from ceiling act, other surplus land and deforrested land)
-First 5 villages in Gujrat rehabilitated. 972 PAFs
-14000 ha of forest land to be diverted for dam work.
-In 2000, Supreme court ruled to expediate dams construction. also built in reviews by R&R comitee & environmental comitee to give clearance for increasing dam height.
*NWDT resolution of water, power dispute ~1980
FRL=138meters
Total water: 28MAF, MP-70%, GJ27%, MH-1%, RJ-2%
Power: MP-57%, MH-27%, Gj-16%
Award binding on all concerned parties
Parameters of dam not to be revised till 2025.
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Interview with Arundhati Roy by PBS
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/shows/dammed/index.html
-claims dams have been a failed promise. Drought prone areas have increased in 50 years.
-dams have benefits, but who does it benefit & are benefits sustainable?
-Centralization of resources, corruption, snatching rivers from poor & giving to riches
-when asked how she feels about a failed movement.. says.. she is dispaired by failure of nonviolence. For 15 yrs NBA has ran most democratic, nonviolent, reasonable movement in India.
-If we dont respect nonviolence, violence may become only option for people.
-argues for land for land instead of cash compensation, as people dont take part in market economy, and leads to corruption.
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What is wrong with big dams?
5 controversial dams PBS
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/shows/dammed/handbook.html
*China 3 gorges
-completion 2009. 18200MW electricity=18 nuclear plants, 350mile long reservoir
-cheap electricity, less dependence on coal, a pollutant.
-control flooding (in 98, floods killed 2000, left 14 million homeless)
-ocean going vessels can come inland, spreading economic boom.
-among most spectacular sights in world. Tourism will be lost.
-1.2 millions to be displaced
-Environmental worries: not decontaminating industrial & waste factories to be submerged
-contains 1300 archeological sites. As much as possible are being relocated.
*Architect of Hetchy Hetchy dam on Yosemite (from a PBS documentary "West")
what a terrible waste of energy! If I had my way, I would contract a photographer and take nice pictures of this valley, and build a dam on it.
*Bhakra Nangal dam
built in 1961. temple of modern India. turned Punjab into bread basket.Indian production quadrupled from 1951 to 1997, dams cited as cause. But World commision on dam (http://www.dams.org/ )differs, saying only 10% of grain production can be owed to large dams.
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**Debate between Medha patker vs. S.K.Mohopatra (managing director, Sardar Sarovar)
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/shows/dammed/debate.html
*If dam is built, what is short term impact on Narmada valley and impact 5 yrs, 20yrs from now?
MP:
-immediate negative impact will be trauma of the displaced people. (due to very poor rehabilitation, low education, loss of livelihood & way of life).
-long term, earthquake activity will increase, as Narmada flows over rift valley, which is made by faults
-dried up area of 40km.. fish kills & sea ingress
-forest getting lost & catchment degraded, silt will fill up & reduce dam life
SKM
-being rift valley, much of submerged area is on hills & forest lands.
-78:1 afforestation will green surrounding hills, improving catchment area
-upstream, economy boost due to to fishing, transportation, forest cover & hydropower
-downstream, regulated water flow throughout the year, no flooding
-assured irrigation, boosing agriculture
*If dam is built, what is short term, 5 yr, 20yr impact on India?
MP:
-vast cultural heritage lost. temples, mosques, tribal groves.
-Interest paid on loan for sardar sarovar = 28 billion ruppes, will divert 90% of irrigation budget of Gujrat government. 86% of Gujrat outside irrigation belt will be starved off funds for small, short term projects.
-benefits of food production are overestimated and costs neglected. (Independent assesment: contribution of dams is 10%)
SKM:
-5 million acres of land in Gujrat & Rajasthan will get assured water for irrigation.(2 billion $ income)
-1450MW electricity shared between 2 states
-8215 villages, 135 towns in Gujrat, 124 villages in Rajasthan will benefit. reduced drudgery. Health standard, water quality will improve.
-Industrial and agricultural developement
*will it alleviate / aggrevate droughts/floods?
MP
-despite 3600 large dams, drought problem has worsened
-no specific guarantee of flood control as benefit of dam
-drought affected kutch will get just 2% water, though it occupies 24% area. Even less due to greedy suger factory owners, industries & urban rich.
-Canal supply to Rajasthan & Kutchh will be closed between April & June, when farmers need it most
SKM
-drought & floods are usual of most rainfed rivers. 90% flows during monsson. 10% in rest of year. Gujrat sees one bad year in 3 year cycle.
-dam will release part of river downstream in monsoons to control flood. Power generated is bonus
-release other part of stored water through 66000km length canals, taking water as far as 700km.
-stored water will irrigate 4.9million acres of land,and drinking water for 40million in Gujrat.
-One of worst drought effects, drinking water scarcity will be thing of past!
*How will relocation impact ppl in valley who dont own land they live on?
-2/3 of adivasis living in hilly areas, dont own land officially. considered encorachers.
-provision only in Gujrat & Maharashtra. none in MP. Maharashtra gives only 1 hectare to after 1978 people, too small to live on.
-Gujrat policy allows landless resident of any state 5 acres in irrigated land, 540 sqft for home, other amenities like schools, hospitals etc. this has attracted thousands of landless families from MH and MP.
*Current statistic on R&R
MP
-families staying put 40000, shifted 9000
-MH & GJ are giving land for land, but MP has given cash compensation, violating policies.
-12 years after tribunal award, submergence area has increased 12%
-Affected population in Maharashtra is double original estimate
SKM
-41000 families. (figures vastly exaggerated by antidam groups)
-half have been resettled already
-all families affected by height of dam so far are resettled
-Compensation is more than needed by law.
Gujrat, each ousted family, gets 54000Rs+at least 5acres+house plot even if he is landless
resettlement villages are chosen by displaced, given all amenities
*How come people staying in submerged areas havent been resettled, if so, is increase in dam height not in violation of supreme court orders, to resettle & then increase height.
MP
-yes, it is in violation.Dam should have never gone higher than 90 mtr, as no rehabilitation is done.
SKM
-It is fully complied with. Dam height is increased only after resettlement is carried out. 3 independent authorities from 3 states headed by former supreme court justice has to ratify R&R to increase dam height.
*Is government looking into Alternative power?
MP
-micro hydel, solar, wind, and vast human power. NBA erected first microhydel project in India. sardar sarovar was not decided after scrutiny of all these options
SKM
-all sources must be looked at. but these are not sufficient to satisfy total power needs
*How will the safe water supply be brought to every Indian citizen?
MP
-This is not in sight, though it is in each election manifasto
-local harvesting are not given priority, hence dams are relied on and prove to be mirage.
SKM
-for Gujrat, this shall happen by 2007. Pipelines, treatment stations, pumping stations are already in place to take narmada water to each village & town.
*What will be environmental impact of dam?
MP
-dam has never undergone environmental clearance. In 1987 conditional clearance was given, which was anulled in 1991. Proper impact assessment has to be done before any more construction.
SKM
-environmental impact is more positive than negative. 91430 acres lands submerged, 4.9 million acres benefitted. Forrest submerged was of inferior type, while afforestation plans are of superior type. Main canal is perrenial river in Gujrat. water table increased, decline in salinity, improved environments in bird & animal sanctuaries
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*Where exactly is sardar sarovar?
*How many villages from how many states will be subnerged?
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**Finances
world bank loans
actual expenditure incurred 21400 crores.
18000 crores outlay in 10th 5 yr plan + 10000 crores raised through equity by SS Company.
80% born by Gujrat, rest divided among MP,MH,RJ.
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**What do we conclude
*What is present ground truth about rehabilitation?
ministers visit report, if genuine, seems to favour NBA figures. Clearly Gujrat seems to be doing great job in R&R, as they are biggest beneficiary, and they are losing money by delay. MP on other side is doing pathetic job. What is cause of lack of political will? corrupt officials, indifferent beaurocrats worsen the trust people place in government to be fair in R&R, causing them to stay put, instead of resettling. There would be a very natural "who moved my cheese" syndrome when it comes to forced migration. NBA and some tribals might play battle of nerves, as they plan Jal Samarpan. but very probably will have to relent to pressures. But from human rights point of view, it is very important to ensure, there is no exploitation, and there is fair or even generous resettlement.
-One point of debate between Medha patkar & Mohopatra, stood out as glaring contradiction. The dam height was increased despite ensuring R&R and environmental check, as per MP. But SVM says an independent comitee ratifies both of these before height is increased. Tribals say R&R subcomitees never visited the place. So fault lies with either MP, SVM or R&R commitee. It needs to be investigated.
*How to determine if large dams are good/bad for developement?
It is a very complex question, and short term usually contradicts long term. Often social & environmental cost tends to be neglected, only focussing on benefits. Evidences are moulded to suit thesis. And sometimes, good dam, bad dams stereotypes are touted without focussing on facts. One way out, is collaborative, multi-stakeholder comitee research like world commison on dams, (http://www.dams.org), which has Medha patkar, ABB vice president, people from Industry as its writers. This seems the least biased option. Such organizations can conduct right research, and present short & long term effects, chance outcomes for each option.
But final decision should be made by a centralized decisive body, depending on whats it values most. (e.g. If next month, Iran cuts off oil supply, India can not afford oil, and short term benefits of Sardar sarovar (hydel power), will outweigh any longterm cons, and we will hasten to build it. Indecision despite right information is probably next in damage to decision based on wrong/biased information..
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Future research
*Read World Dams report