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These are some of the major projects of dam that put very adverse impact on society and environment. These are discussed respectively as follows:
Tehri Hydroelectric Project:
The controversial Tehri dam is a classic example of the wanton destruction of the Himalayan ecosystem and ecology wrought by the demands of development.
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The idea of setting up a high dam in the lesser Himalayas to harness its power and water potential was conceived way back in 1949 and a site chosen on river Bhagirathi, 1.5 km downstream from the 1000 years old holy town of Tehri, 1550 m above sea level. Serious doubts were raised about the viability and location of Tehri dam.
Tehri dam is located in the central Himalayan Seismic Gap where the Indian plate is crashing into the Asian mainland at a speed of 2 cm per year. The geological disturbances being created by the construction of the dam may hasten and intensify the earthquake. The rocks lining the walls of Bhagirathi gorge are prone to seepage and the accumulating water may exert immense pressure on the hill slopes. This along with the constantly eroding shale of the river bed will weaken the dam’s foundation which is said to be lying on a fault.
Further, the Tehri dam will obstruct the natural flow of the massive volumes of sediments raising the river beds upstream and endangering the populous settlements. It will inundate several villages and displace its inhabitants who have been living there for generations. More precious land in this already denuded land had to be cleared for those ousted, compelling them to surrender their fertile fields in return for barren patches. The rehabilitation scheme ignored the village as the unit for relocation and settled them as individual families thus taking away their collective bargaining power and destroying community culture.
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People in the Garhwal Himalaya have been against the project and their opposition coalesced into a movement. A fresh review of the project and closer scrutiny of the dam construction is being done.
Narmada River Valley Project:
The Narmada River Valley Project, the largest in the country, envisages construction of 30 major dams — 10 on Narmada and 20 on its tributaries — as well as 135 medium and 3000 minor dams. Of these the two mega-dams are the Sardar Sarovar and Narmada Sagar. Some 21 million people dwell in this enormous basin covering 98,796 km sq. Around 80% of the population, with a sizeable number of tribals, live in villages and are dependent on agriculture and forests.
The Narmada Sagar and Sardar Sarovar dams were to be built in tandem, but the former estimated to submerge 90,000, was and thus never got underway being enmeshed in controversy from its inception. Construction of the latter, however, was taken up with zeal at the instance of the Gujarat government.
People affected adversely from the project are numerous and ever increasing. Hundreds of villages need to be evicted for the project resulting in the villagers and tribals being displaced and dispossessed.
Their traditional sources of livelihood are lost and rehabilitation does not necessarily recreate the same. The farmers of Nimar thrive on horticulture and when moved out of fertile plains, where will they grow their flowers?
It has been contended widely that there will be serious ecological consequences as a result of the building of these dams. Massive water logging and increased salinity of the soil would compound the problem. Activists such as Medha Patkar and several others have drawn attention to these negative impacts on the environment. Protests in the form of strikes and indefinite fasts have emerged. Construction of the Sardar Sarovar dam has been stalled due to several anomalies which have been found in the project report of the government.