The World Bank has decided not to lend financial assistance to the massive Luhri Hydropower project on Sutlej River in Himachal Pradesh. The World Bank, which was to provide a huge USD 650 million to the $ 1150 million project,...![]()
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The World Bank drops funding USD 650 m for the LUHRI Hydro project! Victory for the Sutlej Bachao Jan Sangharsh Samiti
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Narmada dams’ levels depleted to generate more electricity: Threatening water security for Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh
An analysis of the available information on water levels and live storage % during February and March 2014 raises questions marks about the reasons for depletion of water levels in these dams when there was no apparent need. It prime...![]()
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Why is the IPCC’s Mitigation (WG3 summary) report so disappointing?
Extracts from and comments on WG3 summary report of IPCC of April 13, 2014 The summary for policy makers[i] of the Working Group 3 (WG3) report of IPCC (Inter Governmental Panel on Climate Change) Assessment Report 5 (AR5) was made...![]()
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Dams, Rivers & People – February – March 2014, Vol 12, Issue 1-2
The February – March 2014 edition of SANDRP’s magazine ‘Dams, River and People’ is now available online. This is the 1st-2nd issue of magazine in its 12th volume. The contents magazine is mentioned in the list below. This edition of...![]()
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El Nino and Maharashtra: Lets dig the Well before we are thirsty
2012-13 was described by the Maharashtra government as the worst drought in the state since 1972. Weather scientists are predicting that conditions are fast developing that seems like a repeat of 2012. The Reserve Bank of India has already warned...![]()
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Why is This Dam being constructed? Is this not an example of Big Dam Fundamentalism?
Imagine that a state government wants to build a Big Dam, with height of 31.75 m on a Big River. The River has already seen a large number of dams, agitations, controversies and legal disputes. This dam is going to...![]()
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Why is Gujarat neglecting Safety of Sardar Sarovar Dam?
Sardar Sarovar Dam Stilling basin damaged: No repairs for 3 years: No meeting of Dam Safety Panel for 30 months: WHY IS GUJARAT NEGLECTING SAFETY OF ITS LIFELINE? Sardar Sarovar Dam: (Photo by SANDRP) Gujarat government, Gujarat politicians and their...![]()
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Report of Expert Committee on Uttarakhand Flood Disaster & Role of HEPs: Welcome recommendations:
Drop 23 projects, do cumulative assessments & improve governance In a significant development on role of hydropower projects in Uttarakhand flood disaster of June 2013, the Expert Body (EB) headed by Dr Ravi Chopra has recommended that at least 23...![]()
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Do large dams deliver deception and delusion? Oxford University Research says: they do!
The protagonists like to equate large dams with development. Those who suffer the adverse consequences equate them with displacement, deforestation, deprivation & debt. While the protagonists see dams as drought proofing measure, critics have for long associated dams with drying...![]()
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Massive Hydropower capacity being developed by India: Himalayas cannot take this onslaught
At least 49 large[1] hydropower projects are under construction in India today, with a cumulative capacity of 15006 MW[2]. As per the latest bulletin from Central Electricity Authority[3], “Status of Hydro Electric Projects under Execution for 12th Plan & beyond...![]()
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Matmora (Assam) Geo-tube Embankment on Brahmaputra: State Glorifies, but No End to Peoples’ Sufferings after Three Years of Construction
The state of Assam in the northeastern India annually bears the brunt of floods and where embankment construction and repairing seems like permanent affair. Displacement of people living on the banks of rivers due to river bank erosion is another...![]()
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Sinking and Shrinking deltas: Major Role of Dams in abetting delta subsidence and Effective Sea Level Rise
“We enjoy Pushing Rivers Around” -An early Hydraulic engineer in California (from Patrick McCully’s Silenced Rivers, 1996) “We can tame the mighty rivers. We are an example of human will and endeavor” -Sutlej Jal Viduyt Nigam Limited, damming the entire...![]()
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Massive Kwar and Kiru HEPs on Chenab, J and K:Poor quality & cut paste EIAs, flawed public hearing
It seems we do not want to learn any lessons from the massive Uttarakhand disaster of June 2013. Two more huge capacity hydropower projects have been submitted to the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of Ministry of Environment & Forest (MoEF)...![]()
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CWC’s National Dam Register Violates Laws and SC orders on Uttarakhand dams
The latest (March 2014) edition of the National Register of Large Dams[1] (NRLD) from Government of India’s premier Technical organisation, Central Water Commission (CWC) seems to be giving information about Uttarakhand dams that seems in violation of Environment Protection Act,...![]()
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Dibang Project Rejected Forest Clearance for the Second Time
In a remarkable decision, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of MoEF has rejected the forest clearance to 3000 MW Dibang multipurpose project for the second time in its meeting held on 29 -30 April 2014. In that meeting FAC considered...![]()
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Interbasin Diversion Dams in Western Ghats: Unknown impacts and uncertain Benefits
Discussions on Interlinking of Rivers are gaining momentum as new government takes charge at the centre. It is predicted that the new government will be supportive of ecologically and socially questionable plan of interlinking rivers. In this backdrop, it will...![]()
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Challenges for the new NDA government in India
National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by BJP’s Mr. Narendra Modi has been given a mandate to govern India for the next five years. Without going into the political and social facets related to this issue, there are a number of...![]()
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Present Tensed, Future Expensive: Large Irrigation Projects in Northeast India
“The actual construction costs of large dams are too high to yield a positive return” this was the unequivocal conclusion of a recent study done by a group of experts from Oxford University on dams around the world[1]. Similar conclusions...![]()
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Himalayas cannot take this Hydro onslaught
MESSAGE ON WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY 2014: SAVE HIMALAYAS FROM THIS HYDRO ONSLAUGHT! It is close to a year after the worst ever Himalayan flood disaster that Uttarakhand or possibly the entire Indian Himalayas experienced in June 2013[1]. While there is...![]()
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Fishing the Cauvery River: How Mettur changed it all
Like us, rivers work. They absorb and emit energy; they rearrange the world. (White 1995, 3) Introduction: fixing water and rivers Rivers have always stirred strong emotions in human beings. Constantly undercutting and eroding the very surfaces that sustain them while...![]()
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