Hydel should be small

The power ministry's reported move to come out with a policy for promoting mega and ultra-mega hydro-power projects needs to be viewed with caution. The need to harness the country's vast hydel power production potential, reckoned at a whopping 150,000 Mw, cannot be over-stated, especially because only a fifth of this is being used at present. At the same time, the way to exploit this potential has to be chalked out with care because the bulk of the potential exists in the geologically fragile Himalayan hills. Taking up mega schemes, which necessarily involve impounding water in huge, artificially created reservoirs, entails several hazards, including possible disturbance of the sensitive balance between the geology and hydrology of these areas. The fact that much of the Himalayan region falls in the seismic zone makes it impossible to dismiss these concerns as being of no consequence. While there are several examples of the successful exploitation of hydro-power potential through large and very large projects, many of them were erected in different geo-ecological zones and at a time when environmental concerns were dormant. The Tehri and Sardar Sarovar are the most recent mega projects, and the experience with constructing them has little to commend itself. There is no certainty that future projects on the same scale, however well-conceived, will not be subjected to the same cycle of protests, mismanagement, court battles and eventual completion long after the date set.

This apart, there are other constraints that large hydel projects get confronted with. The significant among these are difficulties in site investigation; geological surprises encountered during the execution phase, especially during tunnelling; inaccessibility of the area; delays in land acquisition; problems of resettlement and rehabilitation of affected people; law and order problems, particularly in areas where there is militant activity; and legal challenges resulting in judicial interventions. Besides, arranging for long-term finance of the order required for mega projects may not be easy, especially considering the long and uncertain gestation period.

Keeping all this in view, it would be a good idea to consider whether the same amount of hydel power capacity can be created through small and medium projects in a more cost-effective and environment-friendly manner, and in a shorter time span. Many of the constraints faced by mega projects are unlikely to crop up in smaller projects, while the benefits might be greater and also reach more diverse groups of people. Besides adding to power generation capacity, smaller projects have an additional dimension to them as a means to conserving vital soil and water resources. This, in turn, could augment water availability for agriculture and other purposes, benefiting the local people rather than alienating them from their existing habitat. Even in many developed systems like the US, Canada and Europe, small and medium hydro-power stations collectively constitute the major source of power supply. Indeed, if the power ministry is keen to encourage mega hydro projects chiefly because this is the only hydel power segment that it has control over (tiny and small projects being under the ministry of new and renewable energy), then that would be a good reason for a dispassionate reappraisal of the proposed move, and about energy having to serve too many masters, with none of them taking a holistic view. What matters is the achievement and not the achiever.