Prof. G. D. Agarwal

Prof. G. D. Agarwal
the scientist and rishi

Thursday, May 22, 2008

SANDRP Press Release on Hydro Projects in Sikkim

PRESS RELEASE

Suspend Panang HEP for Five Years & take up small Hydro projects

May 20, 2008

The Independent Committee on Big Hydro Projects of Sikkim has over the last 4-5 days visited a Completed Public Sector Hydro Project like the 510 MW Teesta V HEP, the under construction private sector HEP like the 1200 MW Teesta III HEP and the Dzongo area, including the site of the proposed 280 MW Panang HEP.

We have talked with the affected people, elected representatives, project officials and contractors (Teesta III HEP), NGOs, Public Relations officer (Himagiri), visited the Central Water Commission office (Dzongu), we have gone through the official documents, data and clearance letters.

We are very concerned about the indefinite fast of the three activists of ACT, now in 72nd day today, with the evident deterioration of the health of those on fast.

Broadly, we see that the Sikkim government, partly under pressure from the central govt, has hastily committed itself to develop large number (42 on last count) of big hydropower projects, without much consultation with Sikkim citizens, without considering the implications of the projects for the local people, environment, culture, future generations and even return on investment for the state and the people. It has also not seriously assessed the options available for electricity generation or options for development in general. This is evident in the way the Teesta V has been developed, the way Panang HEP MOU has been signed and Teesta III implementation has started.

For example, there is a huge potential of power generation in Dzongu & other regions of Sikkim through small and micro hydro projects. We were shocked to see that not a single small or micro hydro project has been developed in Dzongu region. In stead of assessing & realizing this potential, the govt has entered into an MOU with an unknown entity like the Himagiri for the 280 MW Panang HEP. This project will completely and permanently destroy the serene environment of the Dzongu, will destroy the culture, deeply affect the place with deep and unique religious sentiments and destroy the Lepcha Community's unique abode. The govt should rather suspend or declare moratorium on this project for at least 5 years and in the meantime take up the small and micro hydro HEPs in this region and also see the how the Teesta V and III (when completed) project performs.

Here it may be noted that the Panang Project still has not been given concurrence by the Central Electricity Authority under the Section 8 of electricity Act 2003. The project had applied for such a concurrence on Oct 17, 2006 and the application was returned without concurrence for lack of sufficient information on November 17, 2006. Without such a concurrence the work that has been now commenced on this project is illegal and should be stopped. This also exposes how improperly the projects are taken up in Sikkim.

On Teesta 3, the Teesta Urja Limited, the company that is developing the project has no track record on such projects. Here the govt should ensure that the company enters into and MOU with the affected communities to ensure that all possible impacts are avoided or minimised and properly compensated when unavoidable. The Environment management plan is implemented as required and local people benefit rather than suffer adverse impacts, as happens in all hydro projects. Complete videography of the houses, water sources, existing landslides and other structures should immediately be done to create a baseline data. The EIA-EMP should be translated in full in local language and made available. All this should be done before project is taken any further. If the project work continues without implementing all these steps, it would bring greater disaster than the Teesta V project, which has been a disaster as can be seen from the situation on ground.

All these steps should be implemented as a policy for all HEPs.

On Teesta V, it is important that the govt asks NHPC to institute credible independent review and resolution of the outstanding social and environmental issues in a time bound manner. We found that scores of houses have developed cracks, the water sources of the communities have dried up, the project site has been left ugly, without restoring the site as required and the tunnels are already leaking. We just found that the huge amount of silt has also been accumulated behind the dam already and the project had to stop generation of power for the last five days. The state govt should also penalise NHPC for not taking care of these problem before commissioning of the project. We also found from the affected people that there seems to be massive corruption in payments of compensations, unearthed by the affected people through RTI. In some cases, the affected people seem to have been paid Rs 5000/- when records show they have been paid Rs 35000/-. A credible independent investigation into this aspect is also urgently required.

We are glad that the Chief Minister of Sikkim has declared in the assembly the Teesta IV project, earlier awarded to NHPC, would be scrapped. NHPC could have created greater havoc in the fragile geology of Teesta IV area, beside destroying the sanctity of Dzongu region. We also are happy to note that the Sikkim Cabinet has decided to scrap four of the five other HEPs proposed in the Dzongu area. We hope the Sikkim CM will show statesmanship by suspending the Panang HEP for at least five years immediately to protect and preserve the sanctity of the Dzongu area.

For other proposed Big HEPs, the Sikkim govt should take a pause, initiate a credible independent commission with participation of ACT and other concerned groups and persons. It is also important to study the credibility of EIAs, the siltation rates in Teesta basin, the downstream impacts, the cumulative impacts, the incidents of flash floods, requirement of minimum water flows and floodflows in the rivers and so on in the meantime to ensure that whatever projects taken up are indeed in larger interest of the people, environment and future of the people of the state. If the projects now proposed are taken up, the Rivers, environment, culture, forests and mountains of Sikkim will be completely and irreversibly destroyed.

These are the initial recommendations of the committee, we hope to submit a more detailed report to all concerned soon. We also hope to widely disseminate the report and also submit it to the Planning Commission, the Power Ministry, and other concerned ministries and agencies in the Central and the state Govt.

Members: Soupana Lahiri (National Forum of Forest People and Forest workers, Delhi, souparna.lahiri@gmail.com)

Ravindra Nath (Rural Volunteers Centre, Akajan, Assam, assamravi@yahoo.co.in)

Partho J Das (North Eastern Centre for Environmental Research and Development, Gowahati, parthojdas@sancharnet.in)

Vimal Bhai (Matu Jan Sangathan, Delhi, matuporg@gmail.com)

Arnab (NESPON, Siliguri, West Bengal, soumitrag@gmail.com)

Himanshu Thakkar (South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers & People, Delhi, ht.sandrp@gmail.com)

--
Himanshu Thakkar

South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers & People
Delhi, India

himanshuthakkar@iitbombay.org
ht.sandrp@gmail.com

www.sandrp.in

The Press Release can be found at: http://www.sandrp.in/hydropower/Inedependent_Expert_Com_on_Big_Hydro_in_Sikkim.pdf
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Dr. G. D. Agrawal Scientist and Rishi

Dr. G. D. Agrawal Scientist and Rishi

Meeting Dr. G. D. Agrawal in his spartan, two room cottage in Chitrakoot, Madhya Pradesh, you would never guess what an accomplished and distinguished scientist he is – first Member-Secretary of the Government of India’s Central Pollution Control Board, former Head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at IIT Kanpur and a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. The list goes on and on.

Yet this eminent professional sweeps his own floors, washes his own clothes and cooks his own meals. He retains only a few possessions and dresses in homespun khadi. At the age of 76, his main mode of transport within Chitrakoot is a bicycle and when he travels further afield, he goes by ordinary bus and second-class train. These are the deliberate choices of a devout Hindu whose deepest values are for simplicity and reverence for nature. Dr G.D. Agrawal is the doyen of environmental engineering professionals in India. Well past retirement, he continues to teach and inspire students as an Honorary Professor of Environmental Sciences at the Mahatma Gandhi Chitrakoot Gramodaya Vishwavidyalaya, in Chitrakoot (M.P.).

Dr Agrawal is a much sought-after EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) consultant and a Director of Envirotech Instruments (P) Limited, New Delhi – a company that he established with some of his former students from IIT-Kanpur. He is an engineer’s engineer, the person senior professionals turn to for solutions to difficult technical problems. At CPCB he was instrumental in shaping India’s pollution control regulatory structure. He has been a member of various official committees for policy-making and administrative mechanisms to improve India’s environmental quality.

Dr Agrawal is a legendary and inspiring teacher whose students remember him with awe, admiration and affection. In 2002, his former students at IIT-Kanpur conferred on him the Best Teacher Award. He has guided scores of Masters and Doctoral students who are now leaders in the field of environmental engineering and science. Among his more prominent students was the late Anil Agrawal, the trail-blazing founder of the Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi.

Dr Agrawal has been deeply committed to supporting rural development initiatives grounded in scientific methodology. Among others, he has helped mentor well-known development activists like Dunu Roy (IIT-Bombay,’67) of The Hazards Centre, New Delhi, Dr Ravi Chopra (IIT-Bombay,’68) of People’s Science Institute, Dehra Doon and Rajendra Singh, a Magsaysay awardee and founder of Tarun Bharat Sangh.

Born in a farming family in Kandhla (Muzaffarnagar district, U.P.) in 1932, he did his schooling locally and graduated in Civil Engineering from the University of Roorkee (now IIT-Roorkee).

He started his career as a Design Engineer in the Irrigation Department, Uttar Pradesh and later obtained a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley. He has dozens of scientific publications to his credit. Dr Agrawal is both deeply religious and rigorously scientific.

His passionate devotion to the River Ganga comes from his strong Hindu faith; his conviction that we are staring at an unprecedented ecological and cultural catastrophe comes from his powerfully logical mind. As a citizen and a patriot, he has made it his life’s mission to recall India to its glorious traditional reverence for nature and to share that wisdom with the “developed” world. His sense of his duty allows him to do no less.

Comments in the petition to the P.M.

  • I am State Coordinator for organising the National Children's Science Congress in all the districts of Uttar pradesh behalf of Science based Voluntary Organisation named VICAS-Voluntary Institute for Community Applied Science, HD - 86, ADA Colony Naini, District- Allahabad Uttar Pradesh-211008. We are agtree to save Bhagirathi River to save environment and eco system an associated with this movement. Government should stop the panning of construction of the dam for any purpose by imediate action. - Dr. Satyendra Kumar Singh
  • This is a noble effort for a noble cause. This must prompt the scientists and engineers of our nation to review their current knowledge base and approach towards the management of Himalayan rivers. As of now, the reductionism steeped in their knowledge base is precluding a comprehensive vision. This knowledge base is poor, weak, outdated and deficient to understand Himalayan rivers and their behavior holistically. As a consequence of application of such knowledge base, ecology, culture and livelihood is being destroyed. There must be a country-wide agitation to help & support this fight against social and ecological injustice and impel the government for an inclusive, comprehensive knowledge base and an open, reliable and accesible information on the Himalayan rivers, if we are responsible citizens of India. - Bidisha Kumar
  • The british eventhogh spoiled our culture, they are not spoiled our environment. Let this will be an eye opener to our representatives of our so called secular constitution.Government is doing business now. Instead of carrying welfare of nation, evey sector is exploited, Very recently the SEZ. making the farmer as farm labor. Why the Industrial Policy of the Goverment not identifying the waste land, dry lands for Industrial development. Why they want only agriculture lands. Today we are not interested to safeguard the interest of the farmer who gives us the ample food to us.. with out food and environment security, what is the value for the paper currency. Let us preserve our culture, rivers, our environment. - rajsekharan pillai, India
  • Another wilful blunder to dam the Ganges!! Please, Mr. Prime Minister, you know better and should stop this insanity. - Veena Talwar Oldenburg, U.S.A.
  • Already at several places the Ganga has mostly dried up or has been reduced to a nullah. I fully agree with the cause and commend Prof. Agarwal on his momentous and visionary decision. - Shirish Ranade, India
  • In the abiding interest of the survival of the human race and its struggle toward harmony with all the earth, my thoughts are with Prof. Agarwal, his family and his colleagues. I hope that his fast comes to a successful end along with the ending of the plans to dam the river Ganges. - Caitlin McAteer, US
  • Dear Prime Minister: Please do not disturb Mother GANGAji any more than has already been done. It hurts our sentiments. Besides, all scientific evidence points to the folly of the scheme. Thanks and Regards. - Abhijit Bhattacharyya, USA
  • Water and water ways are the focal point of human existence on the planet.We need to take care of them so that this dwindling reource continues to sustain our very existence. - Deepak & Neeta Agarwal
  • Water rights are part of fundamental basic human rights. We need a global solution for what is truely a more global problem. We can work togheter to help India come up with a viable soution for the greater good. - Elizabeth Peters, New York, USA
  • I am NRI and could feel and see the amount of awareness that ecological issues have in Canada. I can compare the amount of apathy Indians have toward this issue - Vivek Mishra, Canada
  • Construction of dams on all major rivers is not always good for the nation and this fact must be seriously considered. This is very relevant in the case of river GAnga, which is the lifeline of a major part of our society and the country, alike. It may be worth constructing smaller dams along the river so that not only the pupose is served, the river and its dependents are permitted to survive. I beleive that the construction of Dam on Ganga be stopped till a full reveiw of its impacts on our nantional and cultural heritage is properly studied. - Pramod Tyagi, India
  • I support the cause highlighted by Dr.G D Agarwal and vow to join him in his efforts if he is not heard. - Ashim Das, India
  • Environmental destruction such as this today is going to result in IRREVERSIBLE damage and huge catastrophies. We have to stop before its too late. - Nandita Shah, India
  • First time I found a person with the same thinking as me. - ANAS JAMAL, India
  • Water is life. The earlier we learn and uderstand the better for our generation next. - Bhismadev Mazoomdar, Dubai
  • Nature Foundation,Sangli, members support the satyagriha to save the rivers of India.Will join the satyagriha and fast for a day. - Nature Foundation,Sangli.
  • BHAGIRATHI and other tributaries of GANGA river should not be dammed ,diverted and distroyed. These are not just rivers; these are lifeline of India and cultural foundations of Sanatan Dharma which calls for amity with nature and well-being of all . SARVE BHAVANTU SUKHINAH. - Dr. Bharatendu Prakash
  • Lethal effects of intense irrigation has already surfaced.There are many success stories on the cultivation of rice with no water logging.Its better for the prime minister to open his eyes with a new vision and open ness to climate change consequences.We need to have complete moratorium on any hydro projects which are badly impacting the ecosystem - L.C.Nagaraj
  • I just completed my trip to Badrinath with my family and was pained to see these massive dam structures are being planned. I am sure after five years or so, our future generations may not be able to see the flowing of most sacred rivers be it Ganga, Bhagirathi, Manthagini or whatever. In the interest of environment and to maintain the sacredness, can't we stop this? - Rangarajan AL
  • We need to preserve holy river Ganga - while around the world there are so many initiatives to protect the environment we need to protect the lifeline of India. - Sanjay Saini
  • As one who has been a regular visitor to the region i cannot understand the naivety of the decision makers!!! How can one allow the murder of one of the last bastions of nature and its ecology. The damage to the environment will be incalculable. Further we are at a time in history where the global need of the hour is to support NATURE and to bring about a quantum shift in human perspective, so as to really understand the need to live in harmony with nature. This wayward scheme across the Bhagirthi already has so many implications which only the hill people know of. It does not take nature too long to recover from you ,what you took away from it. Divine Justice waiting to happen!! - is this what we want ?? - Sanjiv Malvi
  • Ganga is unlike other rivers, we call it GANGA Ji,it is like our mother,I fully support Dr.Agarwal's stand but fast unto death is a harsh step for insensitive administration - SHUBH KHORANA
  • Please stop this mindless destruction of a vital lifeline and source of livelihoods for millions along the course of this holy and mighty river that is much more than just a river. Best energy conservation practices and curbing T&D losses can free up several times the power that may be generated from these projects. - Parimala Rao
  • Inspite of repeated experiences with large dams that have proved disastrous both ecologically and also in terms of displacement of large sections of poor and marginalized, fresh attempts to construct more dams is very disturbing. Can we ever learn from the past and make better decisions today to have a decent future, I wonder! - Nirmala Tammineni
  • The government should explore alternatives large dams & hydrow power plants with the concomitant destruction to encosystem, plants, animals and various indigenous and tribal societies. - Hari Krishna Tadepalli, USA
  • Ganges’ is a sure way to kill ‘Bharat's spirit. Not only for environmental, ecological, cultural, historical, religious reasons do we support Professor G D Agrawal but for geographical reasons too!!! Imagine India with its majestic Himalayas destroyed with the Ganges. - DR. KSHAMA METRE
  • I have just travelled along the Bhagirathi around Gangotri and Tehri. What has been done to the river in Tehri will have consequences, as will the tunnels that are being built around Uttarkashi. It's astonishing that the government can't see the enormity of the dangers and continues to act myopically in the face of facts. The debate on large dams has to be re-opened. - Dr. Aseem Shrivastava
  • Dr.GDAgrawal's momentous decision is very significantt development , in the sense, that a very well-known and widely respected Scientist is taking this important and ultimate step(fast-unto-death) should open the eyes of the Govt of India and that of Uttarakhand. It should also lead to widespread opposition from other renowned scintists and others leading to effective public pressure on the Govts to not only stop the projects on the R.Bhagirathi but also lead to enlighted debate on the development model being adopted and persued aggressivelyby our Govts - S.R.Hiremath,Founder President, National Committee for the Protection of Natural Resources(NCPNR) & Exec Director, Samaj Parivartana Samudaya(SPS),Dharwad,Karnataka
  • Damn the Dam.Save the river. - GEETA PANICKER
  • Faith and science both demand that the Bhagirathi must flow unrestrained in its upper reaches. Other countries are decommissioning dams built on pristine rivers. Is nothing sacred anymore for us Indians? - Ravi Chopra