Why it's time to question the very need for hydel power projects of any kind in India

By Shankar Sharma*
An opinion piece, ‘Dam(n) it, what’s wrong with India’s hydropower push?’, has raised a number of very serious concerns to our people from the large number of hydel power projects being planned and built in the country. Whereas, the issues have been raised many times in the recent past, civil society has not been able to persuade the concerned authorities, especially the Ministry of Power, Ministry of Environment, NITI Aayog, and PMO, to provide satisfactory clarification to any of these concerns.
Having raised serious concerns on social and environmental perspective for decades, and noticing the apathy/ callousness of our authorities on all these issues, it may be useful now for civil society groups to focus on a diligent analysis of costs and benefits (CBA) to the larger society instead of considering the costs only for the project developer, while also seeking such CBA for each of the credible alternative options to achieve the same project goal.
For example, if the peak load support is stated as the objective for a Pump Storage Project (PSP) proposal, we should seek an effectively prepared the CBA for each of the alternative options, such as BESS (battery energy storage system).
At the risk of repeating myself, as has been emphasised on multiple occasions, I also suggest that we should ask serious questions on the lack of demand side management measures, efficiency improvement, and energy conservation.
For example, effective actions to shift a large number of non-essential/ non-critical usage of electricity to day time hours will minimise the perceived need for most of such peak load power sources. Also needing a critical examination is the question as to why every single usage of electricity needs to be fed by the integrated grid?
A number of applications such as streetlights, decorative lights, night time sports events, school/ college building illumination, security lights, most of the commercial lightings applications etc. can be efficiently/ economically fed by isolated renewal energy (RE) power sources, such as roof top SPVs combined with local level BESS. All such feasible options when aggregated at the state level, can drastically bring down or even eliminate the need for PSPs.
As far as the very need for additional conventional hydel power plants are concerned, the global society has come far from the era when such hydel power plants were perceived as essential to maintain the system security; the same is not required anymore.

Just consider the cases of electricity supply scenarios in gulf nations, Australia, France etc. where the hydro potential is very low or nil. As, mentioned in the opinion piece above, the cost per unit of electricity from any additional hydel power plant is likely to be much higher than that from RE sources.

Hence, the time has come to question the very need for hydel power projects of any kind. Since, even our authorities cannot deny the deleterious impacts of hydel power plants on nature, civil society should strongly and persuasively advocate our societies to move away from hydel power plants of all kinds.

It is also a great irony that a number of BESS projects are also being tendered for in addition to PSPs in India. The primary question that needs to be asked at the highest level of the government is: if the large number of BESS projects, as is being planned/ built now, is believed to be essential/ useful, and techno-economically viable, why not have adequate number and magnitude of the same all over the grid to remove the need for hydel power plants?

All these issues and many more of true relevance to our country, could have been diligently discussed in an effective national energy policy, the draft of which came out in 2017. But our authorities seem to believe that such a policy document, which could have taken a holistic approach to the electricity demand/ supply scenario from the overall welfare perspective, is not necessary.

There is an urgent need for civil society groups to persuade the Union government to take such a holistic approach through a diligently prepared national energy policy.

---

*Power & Climate Policy Analyst

Comments

Countrywide protest by gig workers puts spotlight on algorithmic exploitation

By A Representative A nationwide protest led largely by women gig and platform workers was held across several states on February 3, with the Gig & Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU) claiming the mobilisation as a success and a strong assertion of workers’ rights against what it described as widespread exploitation by digital platform companies. Demonstrations took place in Delhi, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Maharashtra and other states, covering major cities including New Delhi, Jaipur, Bengaluru and Mumbai, along with multiple districts across the country.

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.

CFA flags ‘welfare retreat’ in Union Budget 2026–27, alleges corporate bias

By Jag Jivan The advocacy group Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA) has sharply criticised the Union Budget 2026–27 , calling it a “budget sans kartavya” that weakens public welfare while favouring private corporations, even as inequality, climate risks and social distress deepen across the country.

'Gandhi Talks': Cinema that dares to be quiet, where music, image and silence speak

By Vikas Meshram In today’s digital age, where reels and short videos dominate attention spans, watching a silent film for over two hours feels almost like an act of resistance. Directed by Kishor Pandurang Belekar, “Gandhi Talks” is a bold cinematic experiment that turns silence into language and wordlessness into a powerful storytelling device. The film is not mere entertainment; it is an experience that pushes the viewer inward, compelling reflection on life, values, and society.

Budget 2026 focuses on pharma and medical tourism, overlooks public health needs: JSAI

By A Representative Jan Swasthya Abhiyan India (JSAI) has criticised the Union Budget 2026, stating that it overlooks core public health needs while prioritising the pharmaceutical industry, private healthcare, medical tourism, public-private partnerships, and exports related to AYUSH systems. In a press note issued from New Delhi, the public health network said that primary healthcare services and public health infrastructure continue to remain underfunded despite repeated policy assurances.

The Epstein shock, global power games and India’s foreign policy dilemma

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The “Epstein” tsunami has jolted establishments everywhere. Politicians, bureaucrats, billionaires, celebrities, intellectuals, academics, religious gurus, and preachers—all appear to be under scrutiny, even dismantled. At first glance, it may seem like a story cutting across left, right, centre, Democrats, Republicans, socialists, capitalists—every label one can think of. Much of it, of course, is gossip, as people seek solace in the possible inclusion of names they personally dislike.

Gujarat No 1 in Govt of India pushed report? Not in labour, infrastructure, economy

By Rajiv Shah A report by a top Delhi-based think tank, National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), prepared under the direct leadership of Amitabh Kant, ex-secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Government of India, has claims that Gujarat ranks No 1 in the NCAER State Investment Potential Index (N-SIPI), though there is a dig. N-SIPI has been divided into two separate indices. The first one includes five “pillars” based on which the index has been arrived it. These pillars are: labour, infrastructure, economic conditions, political stability and governance, and perceptions of a good business climate. It is called N-SIPI 21, as it includes a survey of 21 states out of 29.

Gujarat agate worker, who fought against bondage, died of silicosis, won compensation

Raju Parmar By Jagdish Patel* This is about an agate worker of Khambhat in Central Gujarat. Born in a Vankar family, Raju Parmar first visited our weekly OPD clinic in Shakarpur on March 4, 2009. Aged 45 then, he was assigned OPD No 199/03/2009. He was referred to the Cardiac Care Centre, Khambhat, to get chest X-ray free of charge. Accordingly, he got it done and submitted his report. At that time he was working in an agate crushing unit of one Kishan Bhil.

Planning failures? Mysuru’s traditional water networks decline as city expands

By Prajna Kumaraswamy, Mansee Bal Bhargava The tropical land–water-scape of India shapes every settlement through lakes, ponds, wetlands, and rivers. Mysuru (Mysore) is a city profoundly shaped by both natural and humanly constructed water systems. For generations, it has carried a collective identity tied to the seasonal rhythms of the monsoon, the life-giving presence of the Cauvery and Kabini rivers , and the intricate network of lakes and ponds that dot the cityscape. Water transcends being merely a resource; it is part of collective memory, embedded in place names, agricultural heritage, and the very land beneath our feet. In an era of rapid urbanization and climate-induced land–water transformations, understanding this profound relationship with the land–water-scape is strategic for sustainability, resilience, and even survival.

Search This Blog