Merits and demerits of raising the height of the Sardar Sarovar dam.

 The Narmada Control Authority decided on June 17, 2017 to raise the height of the Sardar Sarovar dam to its full height, by ordering the closure of 30 gates. It was announced in time with the arrival of the monsoon. Once the dam is at its full height, it is estimated that it will submerge one town and at least 176 villages, displace close to 20,000 families, flood productive agricultural land, and destroy hundreds of acres of biodiverse forest.

Merits-

• The increased height would enable irrigation of lands in the states of Gujarat and Rajasthan, which receive an annual rainfall of 50-75 cm and that also sporadic and highly variable.
• States of Gujarat and Rajasthan face deep water crisis particularly during summer months. The proposed step could significantly resolve the drinking water crisis.
• Developed irrigation facilities would decrease the dependence on erratic monsoons and helps in bringing prosperity in agriculture sector.
• It will help in increasing the generation capacity of hydro-electric power plants.
• Manufacturing in the area will receive a fillip and bring about economic development.

Demerits-

• Siltation constitutes one of the biggest challenges to the long-term success of this dam. The steep slopes of the Narmada valley are prone to erosion. Apart from directly reducing water storage capacity, siltation also decreases water capacity due to increased evaporation loss. As a result, the capacity to generate hydropower is affected. A dam choked with silt creates a river prone to risky situations of potential flooding in the backwaters.
• Compensation to the displaced, when given, has often come in the form of land unsuitable for farming or living, located either on riverbeds at the risk of flooding, or in rocky areas which cannot be ploughed. Resettlement sites lack basic facilities: no wells, drinking water pipelines, or grazing land for cattle, let alone schools or road facilities. This leaves the once self-reliant people of the valley with no option but to work as daily wage labour and crowd into urban slums .
• The Narmada valley is one of the most fertile ecosystems in India, brimming with biodiversity, and with abundant fish, birds and trees. The dams along the Narmada have changed this, blocking normal water flow, leading to downstream habitat change and impacting biodiversity.
• The Narmada estuary, where the river meets the sea, has become increasingly saline because of the decrease in fresh water flow after the dams came up. Fish catch of some species has now declined by as much as 75%, signalling the almost complete collapse of the once famous fishing industry. Thousands of commercial and subsistence fishermen affected by this change are not classified as dam-affected though.
• Also the other affected ones are the people who and industries which depended on the once-abundant supply of fresh water in the delta. (Water has now suddenly turned saline even to the depth of borewells.)
• Further it would adversely affect the invisible tribal communities who depend on the lush forests of the valley, forests that will now be submerged. Only those who can produce evidence of losing homes or agricultural plots are counted as “project-affected”, and can lay claim to compensation.

Conclusion-

• There has to be right mix of policies that do not create trade-off between the developmental needs of different groups.
• There has to be a clear, transparent public accounting of livelihoods lost and jobs created, of profits accrued at the expense of great misery and injustice.
• Government should ensure that, under the name of development, large numbers of people are deprived of their livelihood and right to live life with dignity.
• The compensation measures should be in accordance with the lost worth and it should empower the people to live self-independent life.

By: SONAM SHEORAN