Hydropower Projects The story of the high costs, under performance, violations and inequity

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Hydropower Projects The story of the high
costs, under performance, violations and inequity

• South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers People

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Advocacy for large hydro

• There is strong push for large hydro projects
  today, as if large hydro projects are good in
  themselves.
• In fact installed capacity of large hydro has
  increased at a compound growth rate of 4.35 per
  annum during 1991-2005, HIGHER than all other
  power sub-sectors.
• There is little attempt for credible assessment
  of performance of large hydro. How have they
  performed?

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Diminishing Returns from Large Hydro

• As can be seen from the chart here, the Million
  Units energy generated from large hydro projects
  has been almost continuously falling over the
  last eleven years.
• The fall from 1994-5 to 2004-5 is huge 31.
• There are many reasons for this, use of
  increasing large hydro to provide peaking
  capacity is surely not one of them to the best of
  our information.

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Monsoon was above normal in majority of these
years
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Big Ones Nathpa Jhakri 1500 MW

• At 1500 MW, this is the biggest operating HEP in
  India. Whats been the performance?
• Huge cost over runs, Time over runs
• Deaths, destruction during construction
• Frequent shut downs during operation. Due to high
  silt content in the Sutlej, due to various break
  downs, the latest ongoing one due to water
  entering the underground section due to pipe
  burst
• CVC charges for over payments to contractors
• Non implementation of CAT
• Possible submergence of Sanjay Bhaba HEP
• Q Was it not known that Sutlej is a high silt
  carrying, prone to high flash floods?
• Generation was 47.13 of the projected generation
  in 2003-4, 81.87 in 2004-5 and 60.33 in 2005-6
  (till Sept 15).

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Big Ones Baglihar 900 MW

• Local people very unhappy
• Labour unrest, unsafe conditions
• Huge time over runs, cost over runs
• Landslides
• Blocking of diversion tunnel 1, then blocking of
  BOTH the diversion tunnels and water overflowing
  from top of the dam
• Substandard construction work
• Project work starts without financial closure

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Big Ones Sardar Sarovar 1450 MW

• Huge time over runs, cost over runs
• Interstate disputes
• Long agitation by affected people
• Violations of RR policy, NWDT award, Supreme
  Court orders and Environment clearance conditions
• Flooding of underground power house, geological
  problems
• Even now generation far from what was expected at
  current height of the dam

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Big Ones Indira Sagar 1000 MW

• Submergence and Displacement of over a lakh of
  population without resettlement
• Displacement from Harsud under threats
• Human rights violations
• Deaths due to sudden release of water from the
  dam
• High Court intervention
• Violations of Environmental norms
• Large scale deforestation
• Downstream Impacts

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Big Ones Lower Subansiri 2000 MW

• Poor Quality EIA
• Violations in Public Hearing process
• Supreme Court interventions
• Violations of Supreme Court Orders
• Local people very unhappy with PA
• Downstream communities fearful of consequences
• Arunachal state govt. is unhappy with NHPC
• Workers trapped in tunnel
• Controversy over contract awards

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Big Ones Karcham Wangtoo 1000 MW

• Very Poor quality EIA
• Public hearing violations
• Inadequate provisions for muck disposal, for
  downstream releases
• Local people sidelined, angry
• EIA had to be changed, public hearing had to
  reconducted, but violations continue
• Project likely to face strong agitations in
  future
• No attempt to learn lessons from Sutlej basin
  experience

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Big Ones Parbati-2

• Death of 20 labourers due to negligence
• Dumping of silt into the river, roads gets washed
  away, villages cut off
• PARBATI-3
• Violations in Public hearing
• Sidelining of local people, who are angry now
• Managing Environment Clearance without
  concurrence of state government
• Poor quality EIA
• Inadequate provision for downstream releases,
  safe muck dumping

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Big Ones Chamera-1, 2

• Displacement without resettlement, people are
  still struggling, though numbers are smaller
  compared to other big projects
• Deaths due to accidents, sudden release of water
• Cost over runs, time over runs
• Chamera-3
• Poor quality EIA
• Serious violations in public hearing process
• Managing Environmental Clearance without consent
  of the state government

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Baspa 300 MW

• No provision of downstream releases
• Sudden release of water leads to destruction of
  roads, a small hydropower project, gharats and
  other community infrastructure, villages cut off,
  land slides
• Local administration and state government demands
  huge compensation
• Affected people unhappy

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Allain Duhangan 192 MW

• Local people side lined
• Untruths used to get the project pushed, cleared
• Poor quality EIA
• Violations in public hearings
• Inadequate provision for downstream releases
• Lack of concern for livelihood impacts
• Lack of concerns for safety
• Lack of concerns of womens issues
• Violation of FCA
• Lack of concern for cultural feelings

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Many more projects, problems can be listed

• Athirapally, Polavaram, Siyom, Pare, Kameng,
  Tipaimukh, Omkareswar, Maheshwar, Pala Maneri,
  Loharinaga Pala, Pala Maneri, Teesta Projects,
  Koel Karo, Tehri, Tapovan Vishnugad,
• The List of projects given here is illustrative,
  not exhaustive
• The list of problems listed for each project are
  illustrative, not exhaustive

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Nature of problems

• Inadequate appraisal
• Lack of transparency, accountability,
  participation
• Very little in the name of regulation
• Poor quality EIAs
• Side lining of local people
• Violations in public consultation processes
• Use of various unacceptable means to get various
  clearances
• Lack of implementation of EMPs
• Proper resettlement and rehabilitation not
  achieved
• Local Communities GAIN little, if any
• Local Communities Suffer almost all the adverse
  impacts
• Lack of concern for long term, beyond project
  concerns
• Time over runs, cost over runs
• Lack of concern for safety of workers
• Gap between promises and performance
• DIMINISHING RETURNS

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A word of Caution

• CLIMATE CHANGE In years to come this issue is
  going to impact the performance of large hydro in
  many ways. Some of it is already visible.
• A word on options
• Smaller Hydro projects have far less impacts, can
  be completed much faster, at much less costs and
  with much less resistance from local communities
• Its far less expensive to ensure that existing
  hydro capacities perform optimally, are used to
  provide peaking power to the maximum extent
  possible. (There is a large gap between potential
  and achievement here.)
• Its far more useful to do proper appraisal,
  public consultation, EIAs, EMPs, proper operation
  and implementation with due respect for law and
  sense of responsibility
• Why is there so less enthusiasm for these?
• A word on the session title
• May be the title should be Achieving Social AND
  Economic Development, rather than Balancing Costs
  and Gains? Its not supposed to be zero sum game?
  Do the Social Costs and Gain have to counter
  balance each other?

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Plea for Balanced View
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Is there hope for the future?

• JUST ONE EXAMPLE
• Report of the World Commission
• on Dams The report was a result
• of an exercise in which majority of
• commissioners were supporters of
• large projects. This was the first ever and most
• transparent, open, inclusive process to assess
  the
• development effectiveness of large dams and it
  came
• out with a unanimous report in November 2000. The
• Report offers a framework for decision making
  process
• on Large projects and options.
• There can be many ways for a better future,
  status quo is not one of them..

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THANK YOU

• We publish Dams, Rivers and People
• cwaterp_at_vsnl.com
• September 15, 2005