A Hydro Onslaught The Himalayas Cannot Take

Context: There is rock-solid scientific evidence to demand the cancellation of many upcoming and approved hydel projects in the Himalayas.

Proliferation of dams in the Himalayas

• Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has recommended the construction of seven partially constructed hydroelectric projects in the Uttarakhand Himalaya.
• The government is inclined towards the construction of 26 other projects, as in the recommendation of the expert body – B.P.Das Committee.
• By 2007, Sikkim had entered a contract with private, public sector players for the development of 5,000 MW, and Arunachal Pradesh signed memoranda of understanding in 2010 for 40,000 MW.

Issues associated with the construction of hydroelectric projects in the Himalayas

• High-risk exposure to natural calamities: earthquakes, floods, extreme rainfall, avalanches and landslides etc.
• 15% of earthquakes of magnitudes greater than 8 of the 20th century took place in the Himalayas.
• E.g. the 2015 Nepal earthquake destroyed a third of Nepal’s hydropower.
• Aggravating disasters: 
• Supreme Court-appointed expert body (EB-I), to study the 2013 Kedarnath tragedy, found that there was a “direct and indirect impact” of dams in aggravating the disaster.
• Existence of sediment hotspot paraglacial zones: Which at the time of cloud burst, contribute huge amounts of debris and silt in river, thereby increasing river volume and devastation downstream.
• EB-II recommended not to build any projects beyond 2,000 metres or north of the MCT or the Main Central Thrust (it is a major geological fault).
• E.g. the Rishi-Ganga valley disaster in Feb 2021, the Vishnugad-Tapovan tragedy etc.
• Sustainability of dams in the long term is highly questionable: As hydropower solely relies on excess availability of water, while Climate change and global warming could trigger the retreat of glaciers.
• As temperatures across the region are projected to rise by 1 °C to 2°C on average by 2050.
• Negative impacts on local communities: Including social displacements and disruptions of livelihoods.
• Since the Teesta V hydropower plant in Sikkim was commissioned in 2008, local communities have been complaining about sinking of mountain slopes, drying up of springs and increased landslides.
• Institutional issues: Role of MoEFCC in the conservation of environment is sidelined, and there is no mechanism to study environmental, ecological and technological impacts and hold project implementation accountable.

Conclusion: Considering the environmental and cultural significance of Himalayas, Government shall refrain from the economically challenged rapacious construction of hydroelectric projects and declare the upper reaches of all the headstreams of the Ganga as eco-sensitive zones.