ENVIRONMENTALIST G D Agarwal has managed to stall the controversial Loharinag Pala power project coming up speedily on the Bhagirathi, a tributary of the Ganga. On February 20, the Ministry of Power assured him work on the dam would be suspended immediately. Following this, Agarwal who was into the 37th day of his hunger strike, broke his fast.

This was the second time Agarwal, former member secretary of the Central Pollution Control Board, went on a hunger strike demanding a ban on hydropower projects on the crucial 125 km stretch of the Ganga between Uttarkashi and Gangotri and to allow the river to flow naturally (see ‘Myth of power’, Down To Earth, September 1-15, 2008).

In June 2008, he had called off his nine-day fast after the Uttarakhand government suspended work on two hydropower projects at Pala Maneri and Bhairon Ghati, upstream of Uttarkashi district. However, work on the Loharinag-Pala hydropower project, being executed by the National Thermal Power Corporation in Uttarakashi, did not stop. Agarwal resumed his hunger strike on January 14.

To pacify him, the Union power ministry sent him a letter on February 5 promising to keep a minimum flow of 16 cubic metre per second (cumecs) at the Loharinag-Pala dam site during the lean season in winter. The ministry assured no other project would come up on the Bhagirathi.

In his reply to power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, Agarwal said he had been “duped” by the ministry. Citing a similar letter written by the ministry on June 30, Agarwal said he was led to believe the ministry was committed to conserving the Bhagirathi.

“I broke my annshan (fast). But now, I have realized where the commitments of your ministry lie,” said Agarwal. He was referring to the report of the expert committee, set up by the ministry, which said only four cumecs water flow can be maintained at the site once the dam comes up.

“I doubt the power ministry’s credibility and do not plan to enter into any contact or communication with it until all work on Loharinag Pala has been completely stopped,” the environmentalist said.

Managers for Ganga
The Centre has notified the Ganga River Basin Authority, which will be responsible for comprehensive management of the Ganga river basin. It will be headed by the prime minister. The authority will have chief ministers of the five Ganga basin states—Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal—on board. The ministers of water resources, environment and forests, finance, urban development and science and technology will also be members.

“The body will see that development requirements (such as construction of hydropower projects) are met in a sustainable manner while ensuring ecological flows,” said a press release issued by the prime minister’s office (pmo) on February 17. The body will not be a separate additional clearance mechanism. Rather, it will develop a management plan for the river basin and address pollution abatement measures by ensuring adequate ecological flow in the river. Specific interventions for sewage treatment have also been planned.

Environmentalists have been quick to criticize the notification.

“The term ‘ecological flow’ is tricky,” said Pavitra Kumar, a close associate of Agarwal. “Ecological flow means maintaining adequate water flow in the river just for its ecological health. The authority should have used the term ‘environmental flow’ which also accounts for human needs such as groundwater recharge potential of the river,”

said Kumar.

Others said the notification is just another political ploy.
“Announcement to set up a new authority ahead of the elections is merely a move to prevent the (opposition) Bharatiya Janta Party from cashing in on the Ganga controversy,” said Vimal Bhai, head of Matu People’s Organization, an environmental group active in Uttarakhand. The matter will be dragged on till the elections and then forgotten because even the Congress is not against the dams, Vimal Bhai said.

	Hydroelectric projects in Alaknanda and Bhagirathi river basins

While going up the meandering road from Tehri to the holy town Gangotri during the thick of monsoon, the Bhagirathi appeared to get uneasily quieter with each hairpin bend; until Chinyali Sor village near Dharasu, 45 km from new Tehri town. The Tehri reservoir ends in the village. The river thereafter springs back to life and the roar of the gushing waters fills up the valleys. But the landscape gradually changes. Some of the mountains are bare and dotted along the road, every 500 metres, are graffiti, posters and signboards, giving out ominous messages. “Blasting Site” in bold, “Bandh Ganga ki hatya hai” (dams will kill the Ganga) and “Ganga ko aviral behne do” (let the Ganga flow unobstructed) are most common along this main stretch of pilgrim route where devotees go to pay their respects to Goddess Ganga, believed to be the daughter of heaven who came down on Earth through the matter locks of lord Shiva.

That apart, the river is fast becoming a favourite destination for hydroelectric projects, several of which are coming up on the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda basins (see map), tributaries of the Ganga river. The highest of them, Bhairon Ghati, is 27 km from the Gangotri glacier. The Uttarakhand government claims it needs the projects. “We do not have many resources except the rivers. Power from these rivers is the only source of revenue for the state. Besides, we can also control floods and have water for irrigation round the year,” said Yogendra Prasad, chairperson of Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (ujvnl) and adviser to the chief minister. Fifty five hydropower projects are in different phases of construction and planning. The 162 km stretch of the river from Gangotri to Devprayag will have 11 big dams while the 145 km stretch of Alaknanda from Badrinath to Devprayag will have more than nine big dams apart from several other small projects.

But things came to a head in June this year when G D Agarwal, former member secretary of the Central Pollution Control Board, sat on a nine-day fast. His demand was that no hydropower projects should come up on the 125-km stretch between Uttarkashi and Gangotri. He contended that it would affect the flow of the river and impact its purity. “Run of the river dams are the ones where water will be stored and released periodically through tunnels at locations on which the powerhouse will be built. If this goes on in a series, over long stretches there will be no flow in the channel,” says Agarwal. Following the protest, the state stalled two projects, Pala Maneri and Bhairon Ghati. The Union Ministry of Power has set up a committee to look into the questions raised by Agarwal. In response, B C Khanduri, chief minister of Uttarakhand, is reported to have said that “the state respects Agarwal’s sentiments and that he should also understand the state’s energy requirements”.

According to Anupam Mishra, environmentalist with Gandhi Peace Foundation,

“Engineers feel that a river meeting into the sea without being of use for irrigation or power is a waste of the water in it. If we disrupt the natural flow of a river, it can create havoc. Merging into the river prevents large quantity of saline water ingress. This is crucial but is considered unscientific. Also, they cannot predict that a strong earthquake won’t happen in the Himalaya. How will they save the downsteam areas from flooding if the dam breaks?”

Experts also say that the ecology of the area will be adversely impacted, the qualities that make the Ganga what it is will be gone and the river may dry up.