Alternatives to the Narmada DamPresentation on Community Water Solutions Session 5.3 Rivers for Life 3

Shripad Dharmadhikary,Manthan AdhyayanKendra, India

The Narmada Valley

30 Large Dams,135 Medium Dams,3000 “Small”Dams

The Sardar Sarovar Project

SSP - Basic Features

Dam in Gujarat, Submergence in Other 2 states1450 MW, 1.8 m Ha, Drinking water to several thousand villagesDrought prone areas is the justificationAffected Areas Include Tribal, hilly areas and non-tribal plains245 villages, 43000 families affected by submergence alone

Major CriticismsDisplacement – No possibility of ResettlementMassive Environmental ImpactsMany impacts not studiedCost / Benefit studies inadequateBenefits would go to the richest and best areas; needy areas left outAlternatives not exploredPeople not involved

Dam is the Only Solution, Says Government

50, out of 62 talukas of Gujarat, to benefit from Narmada irrigation suffer from fundamental resource backwardness -partially or wholly - like drought proneness .... For these fundamentally backward 50 talukas, Narmada Project is the only hope for productive employment generation and upgrading standard of living.

Suggestions like water harnessing, small dams, watershed development etc. often flaunted by anti dam activists which may look deceptively simple, become totally irrelevant and grossly inadequate to meet such situations and for such arid areas for which transfer of water from surplus regions can only provide a real and lasting remedy. Sardar Sarovar Project is essentially avehicle for taking plentiful waters of Narmada basin which are to-day flowing down the sea, to the water starved regions of Saurashtra, Kachchh, North Gujarat and Rajasthan.

http://www.sardarsarovardam.org/need.htm (Official Web Site of Project)

Real SolutionsRainwater HarvestingCommunity Based DecentralisedWater and Soil ManagementMany such initiatives in Saurashtra and Gujarat

Example 1Success Story of Community Participation for Groundwater Recharge

Vruksha PremSeva Trust, Upleta,District Rajkot, Gujarat

Vruksha Prem SevaTrust – cont.

Since1995Total of 25,000 - 30,000 hectares land

Construction of 21600 check dams covering 15,000 ha land benefiting around 5500 families. Construction of 500 underground tanks for rain water harvesting in 30 villages.

Vruksha Prem SevaTrust – Cont.

Rise in ground water levels in the project area. 250% increase in cropped area. 150-275% increase in agriculture yield. Self sufficiency in drinking water requirements

Drought proofing for two consecutive drought years. More than 10 times increase in land valuation. Improvement in livestock quality and manifold increase in milk production. Increased opportunities for employment and reduced migration.

Over AllStudy by several experts in prestigious journal Economic

and Political Weekly, Dec 2009:

Semi-arid Gujarat has clocked high and steady growth at 9.6% per year in agricultural state domestic product since 1999-2000. What has driven this growth?

.... Canal-irrigated South and Central Gujarat should have led Gujarat’s agricultural rally. Instead it is dry Saurashtra and Kachchh, and North Gujarat that have been at the forefront. These could not have performed so well but for the improved availability of groundwater for irrigation. Arguably, mass-based water harvesting and farm power reforms have helped energise Gujarats agriculture.