 "Uma Bharti")
Going against the common stand of environment and power ministries before the Supreme Court, the water resources ministry, headed by Uma Bharti, has opposed any new dams in the upper basin of Ganga river in Uttarakhand.
In what is perhaps the first case of extreme disagreement between the various ministries in the NDA government becoming public, the water resources ministry has told the apex court, “The three rivers namely, Alaknanda, Mandakini and Bhagirathi and Ganga river from Dev Prayag downwards till Ganga Sagar, should remain in their current condition without any further disruptions/interruptions or diversion.”
Its views come in strong contrast to the common opinion of the environment and power ministries. Both had banked upon a 100-year old pact signed between the then colonial powers, select kings and representatives of Hindu society, to tell the court that dams could be built as long as 1,000 cusecs of water flow was ensured in the Ganga rivers and main tributaries upstream (Click here to read the story). The 1916 agreement itself talked of such a water flow only at Haridwar keeping in mind only the religious sentiments of the people who come to the city to take a dip in the river.
The water resources ministry’s stance against any future dams on the upper Ganga basin also comes at a time that the power ministry is finalising a fresh hydro power policy to give fillip to the sector, which has stagnated over the past decade due to concerns about its ecological impacts, land acquisition and questions of displacement.
More than 70 projects with 9,000 Mw of capacity have been mapped out to be established in Uttarakhand. The Water resources ministry has warned that this potential was assessed without taking in to consideration the carrying capacity of the rivers in the hill state, the environmental flow of rivers, the integrity of rivers and their tributaries and other competing needs in the hills. It noted that existing clearances had been given on a piece-meal basis without assessing the total and cumulative impact of the dams on the fragile hill region.
The water resources ministry affidavit before the Supreme Court quotes from a long list of government commissioned expert and high level studies that have also warned of the consequences of multiple dams in the upper Ganga basin.
In 2014 the environment ministry too had told the Supreme Court that dams had exacerbated the tragedy in Uttarakhand hills in 2013 which killed thousands. But, later the environment ministry moved away from such assertions. Successive committees set up by the environment ministry and its affidavits before the court bypassed the original question of how dams impacted the fragile hills, to merely the question of ensuring a minimum environmental flow in the river.
The turn-about in the environment ministry’s approach came after a meeting in the PMO but the water resources minister Uma Bharti objected to the change of stance privately to the environment minister Prakash Javadekar (Click here to read the story).
The public disclosure of the private correspondence between the ministers, lead the Supreme Court to ask all of the three, power, environment and water resources minister to submit their views separately. The power ministry came out in support of the environment ministry (Click here to read the story). The hearing of the case was delayed awaiting the water resources ministry’s views.
Now, the water resources ministry has re-introduced reference to all the government studies and reports that warned of existing damage and future potential damage to the state from existing and future dams.
Reminding of the multiple calamities caused by the existing dams in the hill state, the ministry has asked for a comprehensive hydrological study as well as hydro-geological studies as to how the dams would change the flow of the rivers. The ministry has asked for a cumulative study “of all the projects for assessing the cascade formation as well as the natural flow of the river.” It has also asked for detailed studies and compilation of studies on the consequences of the dam on the micro-climates in the hills.
The water resources ministry has said, “Any further projects will have a substantial impact on the ecological foot-print of the area leading to severe damage for the fresh water resource base. The region around these projects is located in the geologically unstable and seismically active area. Hence, the impact of any of the disaster will have a devastating effect on the people, flora and fauna and on the ensure eco-system as a while, which is uncalled and unwarranted for.”
Linking her stance to NDA government’s decision to accord high priority to rejuvenation of River Ganga, the ministry has said, “The Ganga Himalayan basin is inclusive of Bhagirathi basin, Alaknanda Basin and Mandakini basin and form the origin path of Ganga and in order to secure/rejuvenate the river, her conservation along the origin path of the river is the most required step for Ganga rejuvenation. If the origin of the Ganga is compromised, then the rejuvenation of the river will be impossible."
Referring to results of the B K Chaturvedi committee report from 2012, the ministry has said “Existing dams and river water diversions have caused significant damage to the river length and have deplete and deprived the river with its original content thereby compromising the quality of the water downstream.”
