---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Himanshu Thakkar <[email protected]>
Date: Fri, Dec 2, 2011 at 6:38 PM
Subject: [WaterWatch] Press Release: Mullaperiyar Dispute - Urgent Action
required : New dam is not the only option
To: [email protected], "[email protected]" <
[email protected]>
**
*PRESS
RELEASE
December 2, 2011*
*Mullaperiyar Dispute – Urgent Action required*
*New Dam is not the only Option *
* *
River conservation groups, environmental NGOs, independent thinkers and
experts all over India have come together to make a joint appeal to the
Chief Justice of India, the Ministry of Water Resources, the Ministry of
Environment and Forests and the Kerala and Tamil Nadu Governments to take
immediate steps to *‘decommission’ *the 116 year old Mullaperiyar dam given
the grave threat to people and environment below the dam. The appeal also
states that the *proposal to build a new dam put forward by the Kerala
Government just downstream of the present one is not the only option to
resolve the dispute*. A replacement dam will repeat the present day threat
after another few decades. The solution has to be a long term one that
addresses the problem and does not let it recur in a few decades. The
Treaty still has a life span of nearly another 875 years whereas the
lifespan of the new dam will be much lower. The groups while acknowledging
that the water needs of Tamil Nadu have to be respected and honored by the
state of Kerala as per the Treaty, strongly recommend
considering*‘alternate options to water management’
*for Tamil Nadu in the place of the status quo dam option.
The series of tremors measuring upto 3.4 on the Richter scale since July
2011 have become the wake up call for taking immediate steps to mitigate
the looming catastrophe of a dam failure. The 116 year old dam has been the
focal point since 1979 when leaks and cracks in the structure led to the
lowering of the water level to 136ft of the 155ft high dam. Presently the
dispute is before the Supreme Court Empowered Committee.
The *‘Precautionary Principle’ and ‘Principles of Intergenerational equity’
*upheld by the Supreme Court of India need to be applied in the efforts
towards an amicable and long term solution. Against the background of the
grave threats posed by the Mullaperiyar dam, the fundamental *‘Right to
Life’* and *‘Right to a Clean Environment’* to support the cause of
decommissioning are also espoused. The location of the new dam site which
is within the Periyar Tiger Reserve is not desirable.
Internationally, there is increasing realization that dams have a lifespan
beyond which they become unsafe. In most cases 40 – 50 years is considered
the viable active life span of a dam after which it is prone to be unsafe
and turns less productive by the years. The costs of maintaining the dam
starts outweighing its benefits. Many nations are now facing the manifold
downstream impacts on ecology, economics and livelihoods created by dams
and diversions. *Dams are being decommissioned fully or partially for
restoring the flows, fisheries and reviving river dependent
livelihoods.*Even building the cost of dam removal into the cost of
the dam project is
turning into a norm.
There are at least 100 large dams that have crossed 100 years life span and
around 400 large dams between 50 – 100 years in India. *The country is yet
to have clearly defined, legally binding accountability mechanisms in case
of dam failures or unsafe dam operations and for determining what is to be
done with old dams that become a threat to lives, livelihoods and
environment. *
The disaster preparedness of Kerala in eventuality of a dam failure is
criticized. Though the threat to safety has been discussed for the last
several years, Kerala is yet to carry out a dam break analysis, map the
possible course the water would follow if the dam breaks, the impacts on
the downstream including the downstream dams etc. *The demand for a new dam
seems to outweigh the disaster management plan and everything else. *
Issued by
Latha Anantha (River Research Centre, Kerala), Himanshu Thakkar (SANDRP,
New Delhi),
Samir Mehta (International Rivers, Mumbai), Shripad Dharmadhikary (Manthan
Adhyayan Kendra, Badwani. M.P), Manoj Mishra ( Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan, New
Delhi),Prof Brij Gopal (Eminent Ecologist, Jaipur, Rajasthan ), Alok
Agarwal (Narmada Bachao Andolan, Madhya Pradesh), Vimal Bhai (Matu Jan
Sangathan, New Delhi), Vijayan M.J (Delhi Forum, New Delhi), Nidhi Agarwal (Him
Dhara, Environment Research and Action Collective, HP), Ramnarayan.K.
(Himal Prakriti and Gori Ganga Jan Sangarsh Morcha ),Neeraj Vagholikar,
(Kalpavriskh, Pune), Sudhirendar Sharma (Ecological Foundation, New Delhi
),Himanshu Upadhyaya (Research scholar, Centre for Study in Science Policy,
School of Social Sciences, JNU), Partha Jyothi Das (ecologist, Assam),
Mythri Prasad(Researcher, Dept of Social Sciences, French Institute of
Pondicherry), Mirium Abraham (BNHS, Mumbai), S.P. Ravi ( Chalakudy Puzha
Samrakshana Samithi , Kerala) Bhakti Nefretiti
(Vriksh Society, Himachal Pradesh), Parineeta Dandekar, (SANDRP and RRC,
Pune)
Contact for details
Latha Anantha, River Research
Centre
Himanshu Thakkar
River Research Centre, Ollur.P.O., South Asia
Network on Dams, Rivers & People,
Thrissur – 680306. Kerala c/o 86-D,
AD block, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi, India
[email protected]
[email protected]
Phone – 09847283120 / 04872353021
Phone – 09968242798 / 27484655
* We can make available the copy of the letter to CJI if needed.
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