Tehri Dam

Content• Why dam???• Introduction : Tehri dam• History• Project details• Project benefits• Issues and protests• Major concern• Mitigation measures• Realities• Conclusion• References

Why dams???

• Hydro power is a clean,renewable,low-cost alternative.

• Reliable and more efficient than any other form of electricity generation.

• Supports various kinds of aesthetic and recreation activities.

• Other benefits: manage flood water, irrigate fields and provide water supply.

Introduction

• Initially taken up by the irrigation department of Uttar Pradesh government.

• In 1998, was taken over by a joint venture company of the government of India and Uttar Pradesh government, called the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation (THDC)

Introduction

• Location : On the Bhagirathi River. 200 miles north east of Delhi.• Height : 855 feet (261 m) 5th tallest dam in the world.• Capacity : power generation capacity of 2400

MW provision of irrigation to an area of 270,000

hectares. Supply of 270 million gallons of water.

History

• 1949 Tehri dam conceived.• 1961 Tehri chosen as a tentative site for the

dam• 1972 Planning Commission gives its nod to the

dam.• 1978 Actual construction of the dam begins

under police protection.

Timeline for Tehri Dam• Tehri Development

Project approved in 1972

• Construction started 1978

• Cofferdam completed 1996

• Closure of last two tunnels December 2002

• Projected completion August 2003

Project Details

• Frist multipurpose river valley project on Bhagirathi ,the main tributary of the Ganga.

• 260.5m high earth and rockfill dam,spillway structures and an underground power house

• The spillway have been designed for a probable maximum flood (PMF) of 15540 cumecs computed for a return frequency of 1 in 10,000 years at the project site.

• Four diversion tunnels.

Projected benefits• Final installed capacity of 2000 MW (only Phase I with

installed capacity of 1000 MW has been approved)• Additional irrigation to 270,000 hectares• Stabilization to existing irrigation on 600,000 hectares• 270 million gallons of drinking water per day to

Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.Note -: Tehri Development Project also includes the 97 meter high Koteshwar Dam, under construction 14 miles downstream of Tehri Dam. The 400 MW Koteshwar Dam will either completely or partially submerge 16 villages

Benefits to Nation / Region

• 2400MW of environment friendly Peaking power.• Irrigation of 2.7lakh ha. Of new area.• 162 million gallons per day of water supply to

Delhi.• All round development of the region through

better infrastructure and easy avalaibility of electricity.

• Development of pisciculture.

Benefits To Affected Population• Development of Hill Station.• Better Road Network.• Education.• Health.• Electrification.• Drinking water Facilities.• Setting of new Industries.• Tourism.• Commercial Center.

Negative Impacts

• Change in the (i) water chemistry, especially with respect to dissolved oxygen and (ii) turbidity of water.

• Impact on biodiversity, i.e. flora and fauna of the area.

• Obstruction of movements of migrating fish species during breeding season.

• Reduction in the capacity and life of reservoir was studied.

Issues Relating Tehri Dam

• Human Rights : Forced displacement of people Diverting water from poor

communities• Environmental : Catastrophic flood danger

Multiple environmental review recommending cancellation• Corruption : Six corruption cases CBI

Inquiry but no result

Protests

• 1978 – Tehri Bandh Virodhi Sangharsh Samiti (TBVSS)

• 74-day hunger strike in 1996 by Sunderlal Bahuguna

• Many Anti-dam rallies and protest

Obsolete Dam Design

• The design of the dam was finalized in the 1960s when scientific understanding of seismic hazards and seismic engineering solutions were far less advanced than today

Seismic Risks

• Location : worlds most earthquake – prone regions with several fault lines traversing the project area

• Not adequately equipped to withstand earthquakes of the magnitude expected during its life span

• Designed for 7.2 ; expected: 8.5 or more

Floods• If the dam fails or a major landslide causes a huge

wave to overtop the reservoir , a 260 m high flood wave would crash down into the densely populated valleys below the dam, burying the towns of Rishikesh, Hardwar, Bijnor, Meerut, Hapur and Bulandshahar within hours and devastating large areas of the Gangetic Plains.

• Estimate : 10 million people• December 2001 : main bridge leading to Tehri

town and nearby areas submerged.• Can lead to complete submergence of Tehri town

and surrounding villages.

Forced Resettlement

Around 1 lakh people affected directly or indirectlyNo resettlement plan: some given compensation, some house, others nothingRehabilitation appalling even through a sum of Rs 1117.15 lakh is reported to have been spent

Displacement and Rehabilitation

Although land acquisition started in 1979, resettlementof affected people is far from complete There is no master plan for rehabilitation nor even a clear estimate of the number of people affectedAccording to the 2002 Status Report of the Public Works Department of Tehri large number of people who will lose their lands but have not been officially recognised as project-affected

Popular Resistance and ReviewTehri Dam has met strong popular resistance from its earliest days. In 1978 a Committee to Oppose the Tehri Dam or the Tehri Bandh Virodhi Sangharsh Samiti (TBVSS) was formed. TVBSS succeeded in pressuring authorities to review the project on several occasions. Anti-dam protest in Tehri Town

Popular Resistance and Review

• The project was abandoned in the mid 1980s after being sharply criticized on environmental grounds by a government appointed review committee

• In 1987 the project was again referred to a committee of the Ministry of Environment to assess its safety and environmental and social impacts. This committee unanimously ruled against the project but the Indian government overruled its findings and restarted the project

Popular Resistance and Review• After a 74-day hunger strike in 1996, Sunderlal Bahuguna,

a Gandhian activist and long-time opponent of the dam, forced the government to set up a review of the seismic, environmental and rehabilitation aspects of the project.

• Hanumantha Rao Committee submitted its report and recommendations in 1997. The government has failed to implement most of the committee’s recommendations, especially those concerning rehabilitation

• In 1992 environmentalists filed a case in the Supreme Court alleging that project authorities had not acquired the mandatory environmental clearance for the dam.

Financial Viability Issues

A cost-benefits analysis by the Indian National Trust for Art and Culture Heritage (INTACH) Came to the conclusion that the costs of the US$2 billion project will be at least twice as high as the expected benefits.

Tehri is “an enormous squandering of public money.

Financial Viability Issues• 1980 : Rs.206 crores• 1994 : Estimated

price- US$12 million • 1999 : US$1.2 billion • On completion of first

phase : July 2006 more than US$2.5 billion

Environmental issues

The Tehri Dam has been the object of protests by environmental organizations and local people of the region.Environmental activist Sunderlal Bahuguna led the Anti-Tehri Dam movement for years, from 1980s till2004

A protest message against Tehri dam, which was steered by Sundarlal Bahuguna for years. It says “We don't want the dam. The dam is the mountain’s destruction.”

Environmental issues• The protest was against the displacement of town

inhabitants and environmental consequence of the weak ecosystem.

• In addition to the human rights concerns, the project has spurred concerns about the environmental consequences of locating such a large dam in the fragile ecosystem of the Himalayan foothills. There are further concerns regarding the dam’s geological stability. The Tehri dam is located in the Central Himalayan Seismic Gap, a major geologic fault zone. This region was the site of a 6.8 magnitude earthquake in October 1991, with an epicenter 53 kilometer's (33 mi) from the location of the dam.

Environmental issues• Dam proponents claim that the complex is designed to

withstand an earthquake of 8.4 magnitude, but some seismologists say that earthquakes with a magnitude of 8.5 or more could occur in this region Were such a catastrophe to occur, the potentially resulting dam-break would submerge numerous towns downstream, whose populations total near half a million

• The relocation of more than 100,000 people from the area has led to protracted legal battles over resettlement rights, and ultimately resulted in the project’s delayed completion

Other Concerns

• Life of Dam : Projected 100 years due to huge volume of sediment that will be trapped in its reservoir – reduced to 30-40

• Cost of electricity per unit : Almost trice the average cost of power supply in the neighboring states

New Tehri

Situated at an elevation between 1550 to 1950 mts.A modern and well planned townImportant centre of attraction

Construction work

Measures for Ecological ImpactsCompensatory Afforestation : afforestation in an area of 4586.07 ha. In Lalitpur and Jhansi District.Catchment area treatment : To reduce soil erosion and 52.204 ha. TreatedCommand area development : To mitigate water logging and sanity and the network of field and drains were developed Flora and Fauna : Botanical garden (14.28ha.) to preserve important flora and Mahseer fish hatchery and fish farm

Measures for Ecological Impacts

• Water quality maintenance : No adverse effect on the water quality and 5 monitoring stations at upstream and downstream.

• Green belt : Along the rim of the reservoir• Along the rim of the reservoir and resultant

siltation to protect and regenerate the vegetation to increase the natural beauty

Measures for Social Impacts• Better quality of living : Urban- better facilities,

scope foe expansion, planned growth• Rural : better infrastructure and better quality of life

new road network and taped drinking water supply • Employment generating schemes : dependent of

the project affected families was preferred for jobs in THDC for treatment and soil conservation work

• Income generating schemes : Khadi production cum training center

• Mushroom cultivation training organized by UP state Horticulture &food preservation deptt.

Realities

• Compensation has been reserved for those who had land in their name before 1985

• Only who had more than half of their lands acquired qualify for complete rehabilitation

• Governments rehabilitation policy does not clearly state anything about partially submerged villages

References

• IRN FACT SHEET” (PDF). Tehri Dam: 3. October 2002.

• Protectors of Nature”. The Hindu. 2016-06-23. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2016-07-03.

• Tehri dam, a factsheet published by International Rivers (October 2002)

• Projects: Current Status”. Tehri Hydro Development Corporation. Retrieved 5 October 2015.