Construction of Calamities in the Uttarakhand Himalaya - FutureDAMS
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PERSPECTIVES
Construction of Calamities in away or buried under the sludge on
7 February 2021. The flood caught them
the Uttarakhand Himalaya unawares, with only their fellow villagers
calling and whistling to alert them of the
waters rushing towards them.
Such floods, irrespective of the reasons
Shruti Jain behind them, and other such occurrences
that involve the natural play of snow, ice,
C
Hydropower projects on the “ ompany gaya” or “the company sun, river, rain, and topography of the
Uttarakhand rivers have proven is gone” are the anticipative Himalayan region, are bound to happen.
cries one hears in the videos Much remains beyond predictability and
to aggravate the severity of
that the villagers settled at heights only in the domain of speculations. Un-
floods, making them calamitous. could take of the “toofan,” the towering certainty is increasing due to the climate
In addition, these projects have surge of sludgy waters proceeding crisis, resulting in receding glaciers, altered
also increased the vulnerability through the gorges of the Rishi Ganga river flows, and increased incidence of
river towards the Rishi Ganga Power glacial lake outburst floods. The disas-
of the mountain villagers towards
Project. It was obvious to the villagers ter prevention and minimisation systems
disasters, while giving these an that the surge would take down any are found wanting more often than not.
unsettling everydayness and a kind of obstruction constructed in its In such a scenario, hydropower projects
spiralling effect. Projects have path. After wiping out this project in in such regions where earthquakes, land-
seconds, the waters barrelling through slides, heavy monsoon rains, cloudbursts,
evaded accountability
Dhauli Ganga reached and swept away avalanches, etc, are not uncommon,1
and responsibility for such the barrage of the Tapovan Vishnugad should not get a go-ahead.
disasters by opportunistically project, about 8 kilometres (km) down- Quite unlike their appearance, the
deeming these as devi aapda, or stream, near Joshimath town in Cham- geography of these mountains-in-the-
oli district of Uttarakhand. The villag- making is fragile, as is their ecology and
natural calamities, even as the
ers did not wish that these companies, geology. Hydropower projects come as
line between natural and the hydropower projects, of which there an onslaught on these fragile conditions.
human-made calamities has are 450 in the Uttarakhand mountains, They generate as well as amplify the
become more blurred than ever. had come near their homes in the first intensity and viciousness of disasters, not
place. They could apprehend and have just damaging the environment in the
experienced that the heavy blasting by process, but also affecting the mountain
use of explosives that the companies people, who have shaped their lives over
employ for construction, large-scale defor- the years to try and attain a balance
estation, and the muck they dump by the with their surroundings.
riverbanks prove to be disastrous.
When the coming of these projects, Exacerbating Disaster Potential
however, was forced down upon them, The Ravi Chopra Committee (2014) that
many had to give up their agricultural was formed under the direction of the
and forestlands and were made to feel Supreme Court to study whether the
obliged for getting temporary jobs of hydropower projects exacerbated the
constructing the tunnels and barrages floods of June 2013, had established
of these projects or for other small such a connection between the dams
“favours.” Their lives have got inevitably and worsening of floods. The massive
tied up with these projects despite their floods in 2013 had damaged more than
fear of and disagreement with such an 24 hydropower projects in various river
intervention, projected as development. valleys of Uttarakhand, which intensi-
They have turned into labourers for con- fied the destructive impact of floods on
Shruti Jain (shrutijnu09@gmail.com) is a
structions that have literally shaken the the local villages and led to the deaths of
postdoctoral fellow with the Institute of
Economic Growth, Delhi. This position is part foundations of their homes and have thousands. Crucially, the committee had
of the FutureDAMS consortium, an initiative forced many to leave behind their homes explained how the projects getting built
led by the University of Manchester and the in search of work and secure habitation. in the paraglacial region, that is, at ele-
International Institute for Environment and It is these very projects which also became vations above 2,200−2,500 metres, of
Development, London.
the cause of the workers being washed which there are 76 projects of more than
Economic & Political Weekly EPW MARCH 27, 2021 vol lVI no 13 43PERSPECTIVES
3,100 megawatt (MW) capacity in Uttara- In the case of the 2021 floods, despite loose soil from eroding or to enable habi-
khand, are more dangerous. the heavy machinery at hand, the tunnel tat development. These rules are openly
The paraglacial zones are sediment or barrage sites’ clearing process re- flouted and muck gets dumped by the
hotspots that remain in a continuous mained most inadequate, even as the riverbanks. Often retaining walls are not
process of adjusting to the changing families kept waiting for some news or suitable. Such violations have been noted
environmental and climatic conditions, remnant of bodies of their kin trapped in by CAG (2010) and the Ravi Chopra Com-
the committee report has explained. These the sludge. It also showed the inefficiency mittee report (2014). The latter also
are the zones that get formed after the re- of the project companies in addressing identifies muck disposal mismanagement
ceding of glaciers. In such zones, the riv- disaster situations, and their lack of co- as an important reason for the destruction
ers are capable of mobilising tremendous operation with the relief and rescue op- caused in 2013. The local people also re-
amounts of sediments from the morainic erations. Their negligent attitude is also lated to the author that the projects like
material left behind. In the situation of reflected from their failure to maintain Jaypee’s Vishnuprayag project identified
floods, the rivers then cause havoc in the proper records related to workers’ provi- muck disposal sites after the calamity.4
vicinity of the hydropower projects, as dent funds or insurance. Such an atti- The raised riverbeds, due to the huge
was witnessed at Jaypee’s Vishnuprayag tude of disregard for the workers’ lives quantities of muck, reduce the capacity
project barrage site, near Joshimath, and safety has also led the local leaders of containing the increased mass of slush
during the June 2013 disaster. Both the to demand that a criminal case be filed and sediment that the rivers in such
Rishi Ganga and National Thermal Power against them. regions inevitably carry in flash flood
Corporation’s (NTPC) Tapovan Vishnugad events, while the muck increases their
projects affected by the 2021 flood were Compounding Vulnerabilities destruction potential. Due to excessive
also in the paraglacial region. Most projects, like the Rishi Ganga and use of explosives for constructing tun-
After both the floods, of 2013 and Tapovan Vishnugad projects, being con- nels that often pass below the villages,
2021, the governmental narratives around structed in the Himalayan regions, are slopes have weakened, homes have
the dams focused on the damages caused deceptively promoted as “run-of-the-river” cracked and even collapsed, and fields
to these and the way they contained the (RoR) projects. These projects, instead of have developed fissures or subsided.
floods, rather than their damaging im- using the natural flow of the river and This is seen in the entire Garhwal region
pacts on the local villagers and workers natural elevations as any RoR project wherever hydropower projects are com-
of the projects.2 However, in both the would, use dam structures to divert the ing up. What chances will such rocks
calamities, it was clear that blockages rivers in tunnels and drop it a few kilo- and villages, shaken to the core, have to
in the path of such a surge and huge metres downstream in order to get a withstand any disaster?
amounts of debris generated after the head to produce electricity. The riverbed Further, due to blasting-induced distur-
collapse of blockages compounded the stretch between the diversion dam and bances, water springs have disappeared,
severity of the flood. Rivers burst the powerhouse remains mostly dry, as and agricultural lands have lost their
through with greater force after obstruc- tunnels extend from 10 km–20 km and moisture. Fruit-bearing trees die and the
tions, preventing the flood from subsid- rivers get channelised in these. The milking animals stop giving milk, with
ing in the normal course after reaching Tapovan Vishnugad project had a pro- the associated livelihoods getting de-
wider riverbeds and gentler slopes. And posed tunnel of 12 km. The Ravi Chopra stroyed. The wild animals due to blast-
it is not only one project that obstructed Committee report (2014: 35) notes how a ing and loss of forests have started fre-
the flow and added to the debris, but a series of dams every 20−25 km of each quenting the villages. Human–animal
cascade of projects on each river. river in Uttarakhand could convert the conflicts have increased as they attack
It was, in fact, the presence of these rivers into a “series of ponds (reservoirs humans and destroy crops. In so many
projects that generated the calamity, as behind the dams) connected by pipes ways, these projects have pitted humans
they became the reason for human casu- (tunnels)” and “lead to synergistic cu- against nature. Villagers also have lost
alties. Not only the project structures mulative impacts, especially when the access to forests, rivers, pastures, and
but also labourers’ tin sheds were built zone of influence of one dam overlaps cremation grounds (Jain 2016). Disasters,
by the river, as against the traditional with that of the neighbouring dams.” thus, have assumed an everydayness in
wisdom of having human settlements These projects’ practices of blasting the villages where hydropower projects
away from it. Officers’ townships remain for construction as well as the irrespon- are coming up. Like their rivers, however,
at a safe distance while labourers are sible dumping of muck generated by the the carrying capacity of the people, that
pushed to bear the risks without even excavation of tunnels, add to the vulner- is, their bearing potential for any disas-
basic systems in place, like a siren sys- ability of people and the whole region, ter has been stretched to such an extent
tem to alert them or basic safety equip- making them more susceptible to bear- that most express a wish to migrate away
ment. The projects fail to take such basic ing damages.3 According to the rules, from the pahars (mountains).
steps despite projects like that of the muck disposal sites are to be developed The impacts of these hydropower pro-
NTPC having suffered damages in floods as usable terraces that are covered with jects increase manifold due to the pres-
of 2012 and 2013 as well. fertile soil for plantation, to protect the ence of not just numerous such projects,
44 MARCH 27, 2021 vol lVI no 13 EPW Economic & Political WeeklyPERSPECTIVES
but also other mindless construction ac- is put on them. In people’s minds, the arbitrariness and corruption (Jain 2016).
tivities like the Char Dham highway pro- linkage of project construction with dis- Moreover, the disaster potential of the
ject with its similar heavy deforestation, asters is clear, but they are not able to so-called “small” projects in the moun-
blasting, and muck-dumping practices. hold the companies accountable, and tains is also not less, as was evident in
Further, the impacts of such activities in the links become visible to the outside the case of the Rishi Ganga project.
mountain villages are often not immedi- world only in the case of calamities like
ate but are more permanent with a spi- the floods of 2013 and 2021. ‘Small’ Projects
ralling and cumulative effect. It may For instance, the villagers of Chayeen, The Rishi Ganga project that com-
also not be immediately clear whether a where many homes and fields had caved pounded the flood impacts in the case
land subsidence happened due to mon- in or developed fissures, related to the of the Chamoli flood, was operating on
soon rains, or blasting done for a road or author how the Jaypee company depos- the Rishi Ganga river that joins Dhauli
drawdown effect of a power project reser- ited a sum of a mere `80 lakh from its Ganga at Reini village, about 23−24 km
voir. While the project authorities argue corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds upstream of Joshimath. The Dhauli
that land sinks and landslides happen to the district authorities and distributed Ganga joins the Alaknanda river near
even in the areas where the projects are blankets to fulfil its responsibility towards Joshimath. The project site near Reini
not sited, they ignore the fact that these them. It depicted this as a natural ca- village falls within the Nanda Devi Na-
are necessarily taking place in all the lamity, devi aapda. Many such examples tional Park and its buffer zone, and is a
areas where projects have come up. are available in the case of other projects United Nations Educational, Scientific
Valdiya (2014: 1663) explains how the as well. Even in the case of storage dams and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
project sites are situated in the zones of like the Tehri dam, the impact is not just world heritage site. This region near
high seismicity and close to active thrusts, immediate submergence, but the cracks in Joshimath with the Lata and Reini vil-
and that these tend to sink due to blasting, homes, land subsidence and landslides lages is an important site of the Chipko
The belts of active faults are made up of de- due to the drawdown effect of the reser- movement. In fact, it is seen as the epi-
formed rocks—many-times folded, sheared, voir lake. By identifying damaged homes centre of the Chipko movement in the
shattered and even crushed rocks. These on the mountains along the rim of the popular discourse, and for some time
rocks understandably easily break-up, fall-
reservoir as “collateral damage,” the com- now has become the epicentre of hydro-
off, creep and slide or slump down when
excavated or shaken by earthquakes and
pany has absolved itself of any accounta- power projects.5
explosions, and sink under loads. These in- bility to rehabilitate them as other project The locals of this region question how
cidences are bound to pose a threat to the affected and displaced. Compensation a destructive project could have been
various structures built in the project areas. is provided citing devi aapda as a reason, allowed there, while they are not allowed
Due to the heavy presence of such pro- and only to individuals, not to the vil- to beat their traditional drums, take
jects in the Himalayan region and their lage, further creating an opportunity for away simple herbs, graze their animals,
impacts on its ecology and village life, as
N
well as the impacts of the climate crisis, SIO EPWRF India Time Series
N
again generated by humans, the line be- PA (www.epwrfits.in)
tween human-made and natural causes EX
of calamities is much blurred. For instance, Cost of Cultivation of Principal Crops
the Ravi Chopra Committee (2014: 36)
report observes, Cost of Cultivation and Cost of Production data have been added to the Agricultural
Statistics module of the EPWRF India Time Series (ITS) online database. This
It is speculated that when large fractions of
sub-module contains statewise, crop-wise data series as detailed below:
river lengths go dry due to multiple projects
on them, changes in the micro climate may ● Depending upon their importance to individual states, cost of cultivation and
occur. The temperature in the river valley cost of production of principal crops of each state are given in terms of different
may increase … In the long run it may also cost categories classified as A1, A2, etc.
speed up the melting of nearby glaciers. ● Items of cost include operational costs such as physical materials (seed, fertiliser,
manure, etc), human labour (family, attached and casual), animal and machine
But the project agencies have been
labour (hired and owned), irrigation charges, interest on working capital and
able to evade accountability and respon- miscellaneous, and fixed cost such as rental value, land revenue, etc, depreciation
sibility towards the calamities they have and interest on fixed capital.
created, either in the form of cracked ● In addition, the following related data are given: value of main product and
homes and disappearance of water springs by-product (rupees/hectare), implicit rate (rupees/quintal), number of holdings
or in the form of intensifying floods, by and tehsils used in the sample study, and derived yield (quintal/hectare).
opportunistically terming these as natu- The data series are available on annual basis from 1970–71.
ral calamities. The villagers have found Agricultural Statistics module constitutes one out of 21 modules of EPWRF ITS covering
it exceedingly difficult to establish the a range of macro-economic, financial sector and social sector indicators for India.
link between hydropower project prac- For more details, visit www.epwrfits.in or e-mail to: its@epwrf.in
tices and their impacts, even as this burden
Economic & Political Weekly EPW MARCH 27, 2021 vol lVI no 13 45PERSPECTIVES or cut grass in this region, as it has been benign. Both “RoR” and “small” projects conditions of the region. Moreover, it has declared a protected zone. Not only was remain but an appropriation of the lan- employed different private companies for the project allowed, but it was also guage of alternatives to create confusion different activities, like barrage construc- allowed to undertake excessive blasting, and gain some legitimacy for these. tion and excavation of tunnels, enabling stone crushing, tree felling, illegal mining, Small projects do not reflect the es- it to shirk off its responsibilities on to and reckless dumping of muck next to sence and spirit of small as visualised by these sub-players. In the initial period, the riverbed. These practices continued the socio-environmental movements, it employed the use of a tunnel boring despite the project changing three own- that is, projects owned and run by the machine (TBM), which has been stuck at ers in the last 15 years, all three busi- community that remain accountable for one end of the tunnel since 2009. Mean- nessmen who had no experience or his- them, and whose design and functions while the company switched to excavating tory of running hydro projects,6 leave suit and emerge from the local condi- the tunnel from the other side. The TBM alone in such a sensitive zone. The Reini tions and needs. Instead, smallness in had punctured an aquifer that discharged village petitioned in the high court in the case of “RoR” projects has been used “about 60–70 million litres daily, enough 2019 and also approached the National only as a convenient excuse for exemp- to sustain 2–3 million people” (Bisht and Green Tribunal (NGT) seeking the stop- tion by the private players from the envi- Rautela 2010: 1271), wasting away water page of such destructive practices, but ronmental impact assessment (EIA). The that must have accumulated over years did not get much in the way of relief draft EIA Notification, 2020 has further under the Auli oak forests. (Mazoomdaar 2021). diluted conditions by providing that Its EIA report shows how it conveni- The conservation-related regulations such small projects will need neither ently ignored expert opinions. It has been in this region have meant the severing of EIA, nor public consultation, alongside noted therein that the Geological Survey the organic link of the villagers with paving the way for them to come up of India (GSI) advised it to shift its site their environment, and curtailment of within the buffer zone of the protected downstream after encountering hot water their livelihoods depending on it. More- and eco-sensitive areas (Pradhan 2020). springs during drilling. GSI was appre- over, the push for such development Further, these projects compound the hensive that hot water springs would be here defeats the purpose of the conser- disastrous impacts of other small and encountered during the driving of the vation efforts. Eventually, many of the large projects. The smaller mountain tunnel. However, the company reports that descendants of the Chipko movement, rivers are not more manageable or con- it did not follow this suggestion as it would the symbols of ecological consciousness trollable, for which such projects strive. have caused loss to the project of about and conscience, have been reduced to Even small rivers tend to carry with a hundred megaunits (MU) (National become small-time contractors or being them large silt loads, constituting rocks Thermal Power Corporation Ltd 2004). employed as workers for destructive pro- and big boulders, which they mobilise Hearing a plea of the residents of jects. Battered after the 2021 disaster, flowing through steep slopes. In the 2013 Tapovan against muck mismanagement the villagers are afraid to live in Reini disaster, the debris carried by the Khiron by the NTPC in 2019, the NGT directed an and are demanding to be relocated. Ganga led to the destruction of the Vish- expert committee with the Uttarakhand Technically, the Rishi Ganga at 13.2 MW nuprayag project. Similar was the story Pollution Control Board (UPCB) as the was a small project (less than 25 MW). of the Asi Ganga river in Uttarkashi dur- nodal agency to conduct a site visit Small projects, however, are but a smaller ing the 2012 flash flood. (Gram Pradhan & Residents of Tapovan v version of the large projects in Uttara- State of Uttarakhand 2020). The UPCB, khand, with the same design of dams Tapovan Vishnugad Project after observing non-compliance of the diverting rivers in tunnels, causing river- The flash flood of February 2021 destroyed actions suggested by it, fined the NTPC beds to dry, and involving the same the barrage of the 520 MW Tapovan `57,96,000 on “polluter pays” principle, practices of blasting, deforestation, and Vishnugad project, getting built near for violating muck disposal site mainte- muck dumping that makes them equally Tapovan and Dhaak villages, about 14−15 nance norms that resulted in “severe mass hazardous. Like the large “RoR” projects, km uphill from Joshimath. It flooded erosion” and damage to the environment. they also involve excavating for diver- its tunnels with debris, where hundreds This was upheld by the NGT in an order sion, main, and adit tunnels, and con- of labourers were working. The arrange- dated 18 February 2021 (NTPC Limited v struction of road networks, cofferdams, ments by the company of keeping a tab Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board 2021). diversion dams, residential structures, on the exact number of workers, alarm During my doctoral fieldwork in this and powerhouses. Thus, even a small systems to alert them of the danger, or region in 2015 (Jain 2016), local people project built in this manner involves what ensuring their safety were missing. had related that due to the company’s Valdiya (2014: 1663) terms as excessive The NTPC, a thermal power company, muck dumping practices, at places, the “tampering with the natural balance” in has been invested in the construction of width of the Dhauli Ganga had decreased these zones of “very weakened rocks.” this hydropower project for more than 15 to one-fourth of its size. The company had From the projects that are getting built years. Its practices have remained rather devised a dubious method of evaluating in Uttarakhand, neither are the large irresponsible and show a lack of thor- the impact of blasting when met with ones green, nor the small projects oughness in appraising the geological complaints by the villagers of cracks in 46 MARCH 27, 2021 vol lVI no 13 EPW Economic & Political Weekly
PERSPECTIVES
their homes. It pasted strips of glass at the surrounding villages have settled on the locale makes one wonder if, in the
the cracks and told people that the an ancient landslide that is sinking (also long term, the mountains will stand only
breaking of these strips would prove if reiterated by Valdiya [2014]); it is a de- to showcase the technological ingenuity
blasting had any impact on the creation posit of sand and stone, not hard rock and development, as “sterile monuments
of such cracks. After this exercise, never that could hardly take the pressure of bereft of people who trodded on them
again did the company come back to the township itself. The report had rec- lightly” (Berreman 1983).
check the strips, and people eventually ommended restrictions on heavy con- The hydropower projects by becom-
plastered the gaps themselves. struction work, blasting, heavy traffic, ing a cause of cracks in homes, weak-
In a few villages, women complained felling of trees, and even on agriculture ened slopes, and subsidence of village
that milking animals gave less milk as (Jain 2016). However, despite the geo- land, have made the pahar and paharis
they consumed the blasting powder on logical and environmental vulnerability more vulnerable. The trauma of events
the grass and many of the pregnant ani- of the area, many hydropower projects like that of 2013 and 2021, and the imag-
mals aborted. Water springs had dried at were planned around Joshimath. The es of damages caused to their kin and
many places after the project work started. tunnel of the Tapovan Vishnugad project homes haunt them and it becomes diffi-
Faced with acute water shortage, they “traverses all through the geologically cult for them to feel at home in their vil-
were provided with temporary arrange- fragile area below Joshimath” (Bisht lages. Monsoon months have become a
ments of water supply with hose pipes, and Rautela 2010: 1271). nightmare for most villages as landslides
which people complained was not clean. and cloudbursts have become more
In the Dhaak Tapovan area, villagers Deception of Development common, especially in the Garhwal re-
had complained of significantly reduced Over the years, as the work of a hydro- gion with its numerous “RoR” projects
yields of potato and rajma (kidney power company persists and proceeds, and the Tehri dam.
beans), falling to even one-fourth of the along with the protests, compromises also When calamities like the 2021 flash
earlier yields. Valdiya (2014: 1663) ex- get materialised. Often in remote areas, floods strike, understandably the de-
plains that the tunneling procedure is project companies gain entry by promis- mands of scrapping projects in the sensi-
like opening the underground drainage ing basic amenities that the government tive Himalayan region become loud.
that significantly alters the groundwater has failed to provide, for instance, a Questions also get raised, for instance,
regimes of the mountains. This results in health facility, or a stretch of road, and by Bhatt ( 2021), on the brazen mindless-
“drastic lowering of groundwater table more importantly, promises of providing ness of pushing for colossal structures
and attendant drying up of springs and work, so that men need not migrate. like the 315 m high Pancheshwar dam on
dwindling of surface flow in streams.” However, these projects have provided the Mahakali river in the Ganga basin.
Bisht and Rautela (2010: 1271) also ex- neither appropriate or required employ- Bigger than the Tehri, this 5,040 MW
plain how this happens, ment opportunities nor electricity to dam will affect lakhs of trees as well as
sudden and large scale dewatering of the
the villagers. Even though the projects protected areas, as it involves impound-
strata has the potential of initiating ground become operational, the feeling of fear ing an area of 116 sq km in this region of
subsidence in the region … Reduced ground and apprehension in this calamity-bat- high seismicity and ecological sensitivi-
moisture regime would result in depleted tered region and the discontent attached ty. Such disasters-in-making ought to be
biomass availability and crop produce … It with their opportunist strategies to gain stopped when it is clear that even im-
would also impact floral and faunal diversity.
entry and operate in the area means that pacts of the Tehri dam are still unfolding
Like other projects in the area, the the project companies never really gain as the reservoir has led to destabilisation
NTPC also ignored the concerns and legitimacy in the area. of the mountains on its rim on which
opinions of the local people in the public These projects have been pushed hard hundreds of villages reside.
hearing held in Joshimath. There, how- as development by the state government Calamities like the Chamoli flash floods
ever, remained a strong opposition to despite all kinds of disasters and diffi- make some dangers of hydropower pro-
the NTPC project in the town of Joshi- culties that they have resulted in. That jects visible to the world. But the every-
math, as well as in the affected villages. most paharis (mountain dwellers) wish day disasters that the villagers are fac-
The company employed many strategies to flee from the pahar or are forced to ing ought to be accounted for as well. By
to break the protests. Police cases were migrate in search of livelihoods and safe stalling such projects that are taking
filed against many. The youth of many places to stay, is a deafening pronounce- away from people their livelihoods, water
villages were initially given and then ex- ment of the failure of the development sources, the safety of homes, and rivers
pelled from work. Gifts were distributed path taken by the state, and frustration that are crucial for dwelling as well as
in the villages and to the eminent per- of the aspirations behind the movement letting go of their dead, a bigger disaster
sons of Joshimath by the company to for statehood. The high rate of outmigra- can be prevented in Uttarakhand. This
smoothen its work ways (Jain 2016). tion, the existence of thousands of “ghost” disaster is the fear that the paharis now
Protesters in Joshimath banked on villages (Kapur 2015), and development feel in their own homes and the erosion
the Mishra Commission report, that way that remains unconcerned with the local of their identity and sense of belonging-
back in 1976 had said that the town and concerns and needs, and unsuitable for ness with the pahar.
Economic & Political Weekly EPW MARCH 27, 2021 vol lVI no 13 47PERSPECTIVES
notes Tapovan are Malari-Jhelum (114 MW), Jhelum- Hindustan (2021): “Barrage Nahi Hota to Jyada ho
Tamak (126 MW) and Tamak-Lata (250 MW). Sakta tha Nuksaan,” 9 February.
1 This particular area of Chamoli district has al-
The Alaknanda has many projects in different Jain, Shruti (2016): “Practices and Ideologies of
ready seen the highest magnitude flood of the
stages, with a few being the Vishnuprayag Development: People’s Responses to Hydropower
last 600 years in the Alaknanda floods of 1970
project (400 MW) near Joshimath, and the Projects in Uttarakhand,” unpublished PhD
(Ravi Chopra Committee 2014) and an earth-
Vishnugad Pipalkoti project (444 MW) and Thesis, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
quake of 6.8 on the Richter scale in 1999.
Srinagar project (330 MW) downstream. Kapur, Manavi (2015): “The Ghost Villages of
2 For instance, the union power minister who
6 This holds true for most hydropower projects Uttarakhand,” Business Standard, 17 July.
reached the site after the floods claimed that
in Uttarakhand, where project companies are Mazoomdaar, Jay (2021): “Behind Hydel Project
the Tapovan Vishnugad barrage mitigated the
from backgrounds that have nothing to do with Washed Away, A Troubled Trail to Accident in
damages and work on it should start soon
hydropower. Further, project trading like this 2011,” Indian Express, 11 February, https://indi-
(Hindustan 2021). Similar claims were made
absolves the seller company of any irregulari- anexpress.com/article/india/hydel-power-
for the Tehri dam in the 2013 floods. The chief
ties carried out in clearances and payments as project-uttarakhand-flash-flood-glacier-burst-
minister in his tweet of 8 February 2021 also
well as its responsibilities towards the affected chamoli-district-7183561/.
defended the projects by saying that such
villagers. National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd (2004):
calamities should not become a reason for
“propaganda against development.” “EIA Study for Tapovan Vishnugad, Hydroelec-
3 For instance, in the 2013 floods, thousands of tric Project, District Chamoli, Uttaranchal,”
References Centre for Environment, Water & Power Con-
cubic metres of muck piled by the riverside
by the Srinagar project buried the houses of Berreman, Gerald D (1983): “The U P Himalaya: sultancy Services (I) Ltd, Haryana.
Srinagar town. Culture, Cultures and Regionalism,” The Hima- NTPC Limited v Uttarakhand Pollution Control
4 Such observations throughout this article laya: Nature, Man and Culture, O P Singh (ed), Board (2021): Appeal No 05/2021, National
about project practices and impacts are made New Delhi: Rajesh Publications, pp 227−65. Green Tribunal order dated 18 February.
on the basis of the doctoral fieldwork conduct- Bhatt, Naveen (2021): “Pancheshwar Bandh Ban Pradhan, Amruta (2020): “Draft EIA Notification
ed during 2012−15 by the author in Uttara- Sakta hai Badi Aapda ki Vajeh,” Hindustan, 2020: Dilutes EIA Process & Encourages Viola-
khand. This multisite ethnographic work in- 8 February. tions,” South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and
cluded the area affected by the Tehri dam and Bisht, M P S and Piyoosh Rautela (2010): “Disaster People, 23 June, https://sandrp.in/2020/06/
the projects coming up on Alaknanda and Looms Large Over Joshimath,” Current Science, 23/draft-eia-notification-2020-dilutes-eia-pro-
Mandakini rivers, amongst others (Jain 2016). Vol 98, No 10, p 1271. cess-encourages-violations/.
5 The Rishi Ganga has two proposed projects, CAG (2010): “Performance Audit Report of Hydro- Ravi Chopra Committee (2014): “Assessment of
Rishiganga I (70 MW) and Rishiganga II (35 power Development Through Private Sector Environmental Degradation and Impact of
MW) in addition to the damaged project. In Participation, Uttarakhand for the Year 2008- Hydroelectric Projects during the June 2013
addition to the Tapovan Vishnugad project, the 2009,” Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Disaster in Uttarakhand,” report submitted
NTPC also has the proposed Lata Tapovan New Delhi. to the Ministry of Environment and Forests,
Project (170 MW) upstream, whose work has Gram Pradhan & Residents of Tapovan v State of Government of India, New Delhi.
not progressed due to a stay by the Supreme Uttarakhand (2020): Original Application No 61 Valdiya, K S (2014): “Damming Rivers in the Tec-
Court. Other bumper-to-bumper proposed pro- of 2019, National Green Tribunal order dated tonically Resurgent Uttarakhand Himalaya,”
jects on the Dhauli Ganga upstream of the Lata 2 January. Current Science, Vol 106, No 12, pp 1658−68.
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