Skip to main content

Impact of Himachal's hydropower projects: Half of local sources of water have "dried up"

Damaged orchards in Urni village, Himachal Pradesh
By Our Representative
A just-released report, “The Hidden Cost of Hydropower” by a Himachal Pradesh-based civil rights group, Himadhara, has warned that the market for hydropower has been “dwindling over the last few years”, as evident from "falling revenues from the hydropower sector" in the state, where “the installed capacity has risen from around 6000 MW to 10,547 MW in the last ten years”, but “the annual revenue from the sector which was around Rs 1300 crores a decade ago is at around Rs 908 crores in the last financial year.”
Pointing out that the phenomenon is not just confined to Himachal Pradesh and encompasses the entire country, the report says, the hydropower sector’s contribution to India’s total electricity production has halved from 25% to 13% in the last decade, and “in 2016-17 close to 40 hydropower projects were decided to be bailed out of bad loans worth Rs 16,000 crore.” 
The report, prepared by the NGO’s Environment Research and Action Collective, warns, “Uncertainties, hazards and risks associated with hydropower projects in the Himalayan states of the North Eastern India as well as the western Himalayas – namely Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir – have had both environmental and financial implications.”
Focusing on Himachal Pradesh, the report says, “primary evidences” of the impacts of disturbances triggered by construction of tunnels and other underground components for hydropower projects between 2011 and 2018, mainly from Kinnaur, Kullu and Chamba districts, falling in the Satluj, Beas and Ravi basins, show how the North-Western Himalayan state has become vulnerable, a factor reinforced by "geological instability and tectonic movements.”
“Earthquakes, landslides and flash-floods have been recorded as the top three hazards that Himalayan states, like Himachal Pradesh, are most prone to”, it says, insisting, “As per the vulnerability mapping carried out by the State Disaster Management Authority, 9 of the 12 districts of the State have moderate to very high vulnerability to earthquakes. Nearly 97.42%of the total geographical area of the state is prone to landslide hazards, according to the Geological Survey of India.”

Disappearance of springs

Pointing out one of the biggest adverse impacts of because of “hydro-geological shifts” triggered by “construction of tunnels and other underground components for hydropower projects between 2011 and 2018” have been “disappearance of springs – ground water discharges in mountains, locally called ‘chashma’ or ‘dhara’.” 
Decline in local sources of water
A subject of discussion over the last few years given the emerging water scarcities in the Himalayan region, the report says, “The Niti Ayog commissioned a study to understand the causes of drying up of Himalayan springs and how these could be revived. The study highlights that ‘nearly half of the perennial springs have already dried up or have become seasonal’ in the Himalayan belt.”
The report states, “While it recognises larger changes like global warming as a factor affecting ground water discharge, it also observes that anthropogenic factors and construction activities like hydropower projects have played a role in exacerbating the problem. Springs, in areas where villages are located higher up the mountains, the key source of water for domestic uses as well as irrigation are these springs.”
Pointing out that in Kinnaur, or the upper reaches of Chamba, the farmers would not have been able to practice a profitable occupation like horiculture (growing apples) had these springs not existed, the report says, “The disturbance of underground springs and water aquifers reported mostly by communities in hydro project affected area is considered to be a hydrogeological phenomenon across the mountain regions.”
Referring to the Cumulative Environment Impact Assessment(CEIA) Study for Satluj river, the report states, 58% of respondents (project affected people) have cited reduced water availability as a major concern of hydro power projects” adding, 68% show “concern regarding drying of natural springs and water resources.”
Noting that out of 22 gram panchyat pradhans and up-pradhans 80% respondents expressed their concerns about drying up of natural water resources, the report asserts, “Adverse impacts of HEPs and their allied activities on natural water springs was also reported by the staff of the district Irrigation and public health department that was interviewed for the purpose of the study.”
The report continues, “Information extracted for three hydropower projects, in the Satluj, Beas and Ravi basins, respectively, through the RTI Act, from the irrigation and public health department (which monitors discharge of springs) indicates that the water discharge in villages located along the alignment of project tunnels had dropped significantly.”
“There are total 167 number of water sources in the project affected area in seven panchayats. Out of these 167 water sources 146 are traditional springs and 21 had irrigation and public health (IPH) water schemes on them. The data showed that close to 50% of the water sources had 90% depletion in discharge”, it adds.

Comments

TRENDING

Importance of Bangladesh for India amidst 'growing might' of China in South Asia

By Samara Ashrat*  The basic key factor behind the geopolitical importance of Bangladesh is its geographical location. The country shares land borders with Myanmar and India. Due to its geographical position, Bangladesh is a natural link between South Asia and Southeast Asia.  The country is also a vital geopolitical ally to India, in that it has the potential to facilitate greater integration between Northeast India and Mainland India. Not only that, due to its open access to the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh has become significant to both China and the US.

Unlike other revolutionaries, Hindutva icon wrote 5 mercy petitions to British masters

By Shamsul Islam*  The Hindutva icon VD Savarkar of the RSS-BJP rulers of India submitted not one, two,or three but five mercy petitions to the British masters! Savarkarites argue: “There are no evidences to prove that Savarkar collaborated with the British for his release from jail. In fact, his appeal for release was a ruse. He was well aware of the political developments outside and wanted to be part of it. So he kept requesting for his release. But the British authorities did not trust him a bit” (YD Phadke, ‘A complex Hero’, "The Indian Expres"s, August 31, 2004)

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

'BBC film shows only tip of iceberg': Sanjiv Bhatt's daughter speaks at top US press club

By Our Representative   The United States' premier journalists' organisation, the National Press Club (NPC), has come down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for recent "attacks on journalists in India." Speaking at the screening of an episode of the BBC documentary “India: The Modi Question,” banned in India, in the club premises, NPC President Eileen O’Reilly said, “Since Modi came to power we have watched with frustration and disappointment as his regime has suppressed the rights of its citizens to a free and independent news media."

Chinese pressure? Left stateless, Rohingya crisis result of Myanmar citizenship law

By Dr Shakuntala Bhabani*  A 22-member team of Myanmar immigration officials visited Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar to verify more than 400 Rohingya refugees as part of a pilot repatriation project. Does it hold out any hope for the forcibly displaced people to return to their ancestral homes in the Rakhine state of Myanmar? Only time will tell.

China ties up with India, Bangladesh to repatriate Rohingyas; Myanmar unwilling

By Harunur Rasid*  We now have a new hope, thanks to news reports that were published in the Bangladeshi dailies recently. Myanmar has suddenly taken initiatives to repatriate Rohingyas. As part of this initiative, diplomats from eight countries posted in Yangon were flown to Rakhine last week. Among them were diplomats from Bangladesh, India and China.

40,000 Odisha adolescent girls ask CM: Why is scheme to fight malnutrition on paper?

By Our Representative  In unique a postcard campaign to combat malnutrition, aimed at providing dietary diversity, considered crucial during adolescence, especially among girls, signed by about 40,000 adolescent girls from over 10,000 villages, have reminded Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik that his government's Scheme for Adolescent Girls (SAG), which converged with Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman  ( POSHAN ) 2.0 in 2021, is not being implemented in the State.

Natural farming: Hamirpur leads the way to 'huge improvement' in nutrition, livelihood

By Bharat Dogra*  Santosh is a dedicated farmer who along with his wife Chunni Devi worked very hard in recent months to convert a small patch of unproductive land into a lush green, multi-layer vegetable garden. This has ensured year-round supply of organically grown vegetables to his family as well as fetched several thousand rupees in cash sales.

Over-stressed? As Naveen Patnaik turns frail, Odisha 'moves closer' to leadership crisis

By Sudhansu R Das  Not a single leader in Odisha is visible in the horizon who can replace Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. He has ruled Odisha for nearly two and half decades. His father, Biju Patnaik, had built Odisha; he was a daring pilot who saved the life of Indonesia’s Prime Minister Sjahrir and President Sukarno when the Dutch army blocked their exit.