TEHRI DAM & ITS IMPLICATIONS

TEHRI DAM

Presentation Flow

Why Dams?? Introduction : Tehri Dam History Project Details Benefits Issues and Protests Major Concerns Mitigation Measures Realities Conclusion Refernces

Why dams???

Hydro-power is a clean, renewable, low-cost alternative.

Flexible and reliable and more efficient than any other form of electricity generation.

Supports various kinds of aesthetic and recreational activities.

Other benefits : manage floodwater, irrigate fields, and provide water supply

Tehri Dam

Initially taken up by the Irrigation Department of the Uttar Pradesh government.

In 1988, was taken over by a joint venture company of the Government of India and the Uttar Pradesh government, called the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation(THDC)

Tehri Dam : Introduction

Location •On the Bhagirathi River•200 miles north east of Delhi

Height •855 feet (261 m)•5th tallest dam in the world

Capacity•Power generation capacity of 2400 MW•Provision of irrigation to an area of 270,000 hectares•Supply of 270 million gallons of drinking water

1949 Tehri dam conceived

1961 Tehri chosen as a tentative site for the dam

1978 Actual construction of the dam begins under police protection

History

1980 EAC appointed by the government, refuses environmental clearance

1987 GoI announced in the media that the project has been cleared

1

9

8

8

P

r

o

j

e

c

t

tr

a

n

s

f

e

rr

e

d

t

o

T

H

D

C

fr

o

m

Irri

g

a

ti

o

n

D

e

p

a

rt

m

e

n

t

o

f

U

P

1990 Feb :EAC rejects the dam again

July : Conditional clearance by MoEF

Project Details

First multipurpose river valley project on Bhagirathi, the main tributary of the Ganga.

260.5m high earth and rockfill dam, spillway structures and an underground power house.

The spillways have been designed for a Probable Maximum Flood (PMF) of 15540 cumecs computed for a return frequency of 1 in 10,000 years at the project site.

Four diversion tunnels

Benefits To Nation / Region

2400 MW of environmen

t friendly Peaking Power

Irrigation of 2.7 lakh ha. of new area

162 million Gallons per

day of water

supply to Delhi

All round development of the region

through better infrastructure

and easy availability of

electricity.

Development of

pisciculture

Benefits To Affected Population

Development of Hill Station Better Road Network Education Health Electrification Drinking Water Facilities Setting of New Industries Tourism Commercial Centre

Negative Impacts

Change in the (i) water chemistry, especially with respect to dissolved oxygen and (ii) turbidity of water.

Impact on biodiversity, i.e., flora and fauna of the area.

Obstruction of movements of migrating fish species during breeding season.

Reduction in the capacity and life of reservoir was studied

Issues Relating Tehri Dam

Human Rights• Forced

displacement of 67-97,000 people

• Diverting water from poor communities

Environmental• Catastrophic

flood danger• Multiple

environmental reviews recommending cancellation

Corruption• Six corruption

cases• CBI inquiry

but no results

Protests

1978 - Tehri Bandh Virodhi Sangharsh Samiti (TBVSS)

74-day hunger strike in 1996 by Sunderlal Bahuguna

Many Anti-dam rallies and protest

Protester with anti-Tehri Dam slogans

Work stopped

MAJOR CONCERNS

Obsolete Dam Design

The design of the dam was finalized in the 1960s when scientific understanding of seismic hazards and seismic engineering solutions were far less advanced than today

Seismic Risks

Location : world's most earthquake-prone regions with several fault lines traversing the project area.

Not adequately equipped to withstand earthquakes of the magnitude expected during its life span

Designed for 7.2 ; expected : 8.5 or more

One of the leading seismologists in the world, Professor James Brune, has described Tehri as “one of the most dangerous dams world-wide.”

Floods

If the dam fails or a major landslide causes a huge wave to overtop the reservoir, a 260-meter high flood wave would crash down into the densely populated valleys below the dam, burying the towns of Rishikesh, Hardwar, Bijnor, Meerut, Hapur and Bulandshahar within hours and devastating large areas of the Gangetic Plains.

Estimate : 10 million people

December 2001 : main bridge leading to Tehri town and nearby areas submerged.

Can lead to complete submergence of Tehri Town and surrounding villages.

TEHRI DAM THEN AND NOW

A couple watch as Tehri is swallowed by the waters of

the Bhagirathi.

A poignant scene in Sirai village as the residents

prepare to leave.

Farmer Bishen Singh looks at his field, which will soon be

submerged.

The floods have hit millions of people in the region

The Poor Subsidizing the Rich

Massive transfer of water from the Himalayan region to New Delhi, where the average per capita consumption of water is 250 liters per day as compared to 10 liters per day for the villagers of the Tehri region

“The Tehri project is stealing from the poor to subsidize the rich,” says Bahuguna.

Forced Resettlement

Around 1 lakh affected directly or indirectly.

No resettlement plan : some given compensation , some house , others nothing

rehabilitation appalling, even though a sum of Rs 1117.15 lakhs is reported to have been spent

Financial Viability Issues

A cost-benefit analysis by the Indian National Trust for Art and Culture Heritage (INTACH) came to the conclusion that the costs of the US$2 billion project will be at least twice as high as the expected benefits.

Tehri is “an enormous squandering of public money.

Financial Viability Issues

1980 : Rs.206 crores 1994 : Estimated price - US$612 million 1999 : Estimated price - US$1.2 billion On Completion of first phase : July 2006

More than US$ 2.5 billion

Other Concerns

Life of Dam Projected 100 years due to the huge volume of sediment that will be

trapped in its reservoir – reduced to 30-40 Cost of electricity per unit

almost trice the average cost of power supply in the neighboring states

NEW TEHRI

New Tehri

Situated at an elevation between 1550 to 1950 mts.

A modern and well planned town Important centre of attraction

TEHRI IN PICTURES

Old Tehri

Just Before the construction

Tehri Dam Lake

Bridge Across Tehri Dam

Construction Work

Muddy waters from Tehri Dam construction

Diversion Tunnel

Top View

Submerging Tehri

New Tehri

MITIGATION MEASURES

Measures For Ecological Impacts

Compensatory Afforestation•afforestation in an area of 4586.07 ha. in Lalitpur and Jhansi District.

Catchment Area Treatment•to reduce soil erosion•52,204 ha treated

Command Area Development•to mitigate water-logging and salinity•the network of field channels and drains were developed

Flora and Fauna•Botanical Garden(14.28 ha.) to preserve important flora•Mahseer fish - Mahseer Fish Hatchery and fish Farm

Water Quality Maintenance•no adverse effect on the water quality•5 monitoring stations at upstream and downstream

Green Belt•along the rim of the reservoir•along the rim of the reservoir and resultant siltation; to protect and regenerate the vegetation ; to increase the natural beauty

Measures For Social Impacts

Better Quality of Living•Urban : Better facilities, scope for expansion, planned growth.•Rural : better infrastructure and better quality of life. New road network and taped drinking water supply

Employment Generating Schemes•Dependents of the project affected families was preferred for jobs in THDC•For treatment and soil conservation work

Income Generating Schemes•Khadi production cum training center•Mushroom cultivation training organized by UP State Horticulture & Food Preservations Deptt

Realities

Compensation has been reserved for those who had land in their name before 1985

Only Who had more than half of their lands acquired qualify for complete rehabilitation

Government's rehabilitation policy does not clearly state anything about partially submerged villages

Conclusion

“This is a dam built with our tears”

………… Sunderlal Bahuguna