From: *Gopal Krishna* <[email protected]> Date: Thursday, September 23, 2021 Subject: Unjustified construction of hydropower projects in Ganga and Himalayas To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>, " [email protected]" <[email protected]>
To Shri Narendra Modi Hon'ble Prime Minister Government of India New Delhi Date: 23/09/2021 Subject: Unjustified construction of hydropower projects in Ganga and Himalayas Sir, With reference to the open letter dated September 10, 2021, addressed to you by over 60 concerned eminent citizens, I wish to draw your attention towards the pearls of wisdom from Mahabharata. (The letter is reproduced below) Mahabharata describes the Divine Being saying, “The mountains are his bones. The earth is his fat and flesh. The oceans are his blood. Space is his stomach. The Wind is his breath. Fire is his energy. The rivers are his arteries and veins. Agni and Soma, otherwise called the Sun and the Moon, are called his eyes. The firmament above is his head. The earth is his two feet. The cardinal and subsidiary points of the horizon are his arms,” This is narrated by Bhishma in conversation with Yudhishthira by referring to the reply of Rishi Bhrigu to sage Bharadwaja. This verse occurs in the Shanti Parva of Mahabharata. I submit that hydropower projects on rivers entails mutilation of the veins and arteries of the divine nature. Rivers shape the terrain and lives of people by its waters which are always in a dynamic state. Breaking this dynamic would unleash forces of uncontrolled change and invite the ‘law of unintended consequences’. Let’s remember the terrible Aral Sea disaster caused by the mistakes of Soviet Union in which two Siberian rivers were diverted. I submit that whenever there is conflict between financial gains and rivers, the latter must get priority over monetary benefits because by any yard stick economic value of a free flowing river is bigger than dammed and mutilated rivers. The capitalist, communist and colonial legacy of treating rivers as material flow that flow through pipelines must be abandoned and rivers must be treated as living beings that nourished our civilization for centuries and can nourish all the coming generations if cannibalistic tendency of diverting waters in bottles, dams and banks is stopped. With regard to pollution in rivers, I wish to submit that if the Hon'ble Prime Minister can demonstrate the political will to stop all the effluents and sewage from entering into river streams through a single executive decision, he would have done an exemplary act of arresting ecological collapse and for safeguarding the quality of blood flowing in veins and arteries of the present and future generations. The issue quality and quantity of water in the rivers is linked because whenever there depletion of water flow in the river, quality of river water deteriorates. Therefore, how can depletion of river flow through dams on Ganga which results in deterioration of quality of water in Ganga be deemed defensible. I endorse the letter below authored by the eminent citizens. Open Letter to the Prime Minister: Restarting seven under-construction hydro projects in Ganga Himalaya unjustified Recently the MoEF&CC has recommended restarting the construction of seven under-construction HEPs in Uttarakhand namely Tehri II (1000 MW), Tapovan Vishnugad (520 MW), Vishnugad Pipalkoti (444 MW), Singoli Bhatwari (99 MW), Phata Byung (76 MW), Madhmaheshwar (15 MW), and Kaliganga II (4.5 MW). The news came as a shock to citizens, devotees and environmentalists who have been struggling since over a decade to preserve our national river Ganga and the Himalaya. The deeply felt concern over the fate of these two pivotal ecological systems and defining symbols of Indian culture, compel us to write this letter. Not the least, as a citizen, it is also our constitutional duty ‘to protect and improve India’s natural environment’. In the past the MoEFF&CC has strongly supported and concurred with the findings of Expert Body-I (EB I), a body formulated on the directions of the Supreme Court, which found that HEPs aggravate disasters and cause irreversible environmental damage. The MoEFF&CC stated in its affidavit (5/12/2014) ‘that it was a cause of pain, anguish and outrage that so many lives had been lost and properties damaged.’ Therefore, it said any decision on HEPs should be on ‘very strong and sound footings with scientific back up.’ In direct contradiction to this the only reasons given for restarting these projects is that ‘a substantial progress and sizeable investment’ has been made. Six out of the seven projects (except Tehri Stage II) recommended, lie in para-glacial zones, or in its buffer. The EB-I Report had explicitly highlighted the dangers of building dams in the para-glacial zone, now understood as the region upstream of the MCT. Several scientific publications thereafter have also supported the EB-I recommendation against building dams in these areas. The destruction of the Vishnuprayag, Phata-Byung and Singoli Bhatwari HEPs in 2013 whereas the Rishiganga and Tapovan Vishnugad HEPs in February 2021 are recent examples. The Madhmaheshwar and Kaliganga HEPs are proposed on virgin rivers in a para-glacial zone. Scientific publications in the recent years have highlighted that small para-glacial tributaries are more destructive than the main rivers. For example, the most severe destruction in 2013 was caused by Khiro Ganga, and in 2021 by Raunthi Gad and Rishiganga. Following the June 2013 disaster, Madhmaheshwar and Kaliganga rivers are virtually clogged with sediment. These sediments are likely to get mobilized during extreme hydro meterological events thus likely to impact the Singoli- Bhatwari HEP, whose barrage is located barely a few hundred meters below the confluence of Madhmaheshwar ganga with the Mandakini river as happened with the two HEPs in February 2021. Phata-Byung and Tapovan-Vishungad can in no way be considered as 50 per cent complete. They have suffered extreme damage, and lie buried under debris even to this day. Their upstream geomorphology and catchment ecology is completely obliterated compared to what it was when the projects were designed and approved. They would require detailed fresh investigations, new DPRs and fresh clearances if they were to be considered for reconstruction. Local reports suggest that Vishnugad-Pipalkoti construction too, is under 50 percent. Tehri 2 HEP, if constructed, would immediately recycle the river water that emerges out of Tehri 1 dam without allowing for even a minimal stretch of flow in which the Ganga could revive herself. Studies by NEERI have found that Tehri 1 has already compromised the self-purifying property of Gangajal. Tehri 2 would only deteriorate it further. Glaciers in the Himalaya are retreating faster than the global average. Hence the increased frequency of downstream flooding, glacial lake floods, and other disasters is expected. We have recently witnessed Rishi Ganga HEP being wiped out in minutes by the flooding in the Rishiganga River. Tapovan-Vishnugad and its tunnels was buried under tonnes of debris minutes later, and still remains in a deplorable condition. Labourers lost their lives in a tragic and horrific manner and many dead bodies could not even be retrieved from the tunnel. ICIMOD had already predicted in 2009 that, ‘Valuable infrastructure, such as hydropower plants, roads, bridges, and communication systems, will be increasingly at risk from climate change. Entire hydropower generation systems established on many rivers will be in jeopardy if landslides and flash floods increase, and hydropower generation will be affected if there is a decrease in the already low flows during the dry season.’ Fresh designs, costs of the damages suffered and reconstruction will make the power produced by Phata Byung and Tapovan-Vishugad prohibitively costly, especially when compared to the cheap solar power available today. The price of recovery in the valley after 2013 Kedarnath flood was estimated at Rs.6,259 crore (aprox 1.1 billion dollars). Perhaps the MoWR is already aware that the power production costs at Tapovan-Vishnugad and Singoli Bhatwari have currently escalated to Rs.23/unit and Rs.16/unit respectively. Given all these facts, reports and studies, it would be a profound error, indeed a self-defeating exercise, to implement any more HEPs in the Himalaya and on the Ganga, whether under construction, new or proposed. The life security of our people is at stake here, and is paramount. The Himalaya are the sentinels of India and river Ganga supports almost half a billion people in its basin. The Ministry of Jal Shakti has submitted that, ‘along with the conservation of water flow, the protection of the catchment area, the forest cover and the protection of overall biodiversity is much needed because the eco system services of the Ganga-Himalayan basin is extremely significant and have a direct and indirect impact on the overall food and water security and climate conditions of the entire nation.’ We strongly emphasise that the world is in the grip of a climate change crisis. The recent IPCC report has declared a ‘Code Red’ for humanity. It has particularly cautioned that India will be among the hardest hit nations. In our hearts and minds is also ever present, the deaths of, Baba Nagnath, Swami Sanand, and Swami Nigamanand who sacrificed their lives in prolonged fasts, to ensure the aviralta and nirmalta of Mother Ganga. Our collective Conscience and Science both demand that the decision to restart these seven projects be reversed, keeping in mind many factors that have been ignored, in the best interests of our nation and the stated goal of the government to rejuvenate the Ganga. There are alternatives for electricity generation but there are no alternatives for our age long cultural and civilizational identity- the Ganga and the Himalayas. The PMO has already taken a welcome and judicious decision in its meeting of 25/2/2019, that: ‘No new hydro-electric project shall be taken up on River Ganga and Its tributaries in the State of Uttarakhand. All projects in which the work has not started on the ground shall be dropped. c. Considering the revenue and opportunity lost to the State of Uttarakhand, it was decided that the State of Uttarakhand may be compensated for the projects which are being dropped and on which work has already started.’ We conclude with the observation of the Jal Shakti ministry itself: ‘As may be seen from the views of experts and expert organizations indicated in the foregoing para, the HEPs will adversely affect the ecology of the Himalaya, leading to an irreversible loss to the Himalayan eco system and to the national river Ganga which is the nation’s identity and symbol of faith and heritage.’ We sincerely hope that you will reconsider the recent MoEF&CC recommendation to restart the construction of the seven HEPs. In view of the above letter and in the light of the National Mission for Sustaining Himalayan Ecosystems as part of National Action Plan on Climate Crisis, I earnestly request you to make all policies and projects in the Ganga basin and Himalayan ecosystem, subordinate and subservient to the natural rights of Ganga and the Himalayas. This will set a healthy and exemplary precedent for mother earth recognised under Paris Agreement. Warm Regards Gopal Krishna ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA) New Delhi/Patna E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.toxicswatch.org -- ..years ago I recognized my kinship with all living beings, and I made up my mind that I was not one bit better than the meanest on earth. I said then, and I say now, that while there is a lower class, I am in it, and while there is a criminal element, I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free. -------Eugene Debs, five times Presidential candidate of USA & author of Walls and Bars "We may admire what he does, but we despise what he is."-referring to humans who act mechanically on instructions -------Wilhelm von Humboldt, 1792 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/greenyouth/CAPpKBboYYQz-7G824-AR7KmtDYML58B5t0u5B%3DFEmKSF4JwK2g%40mail.gmail.com.
