Case
Study 4 February
2000
The
Narmada Valley Development Project Context
There has been a great deal of controversy in recent years regarding large
scale river dam projects, such as the Three Gorges Project in China.
Whilst such projects offer the prospect of abundant hydroelectricity,
water supply and irrigation they frequently involve the flooding of
agricultural land and the submergence of settlements. One of the most
controversial schemes at present being implemented involves the Narmada
River in India. What
is the Narmada Valley Development Project?
The Narmada River rises in the Maikala Range, to the south-east of Jabalpur
in central northern India. It flows west through a broad and fertile valley
to join the Arabian Sea via the Gulf of Cambay (Figure
1). The
Indian government's plan is to construct 30 large, 135 medium
and up to 3,000 small dams to harness the waters of the Narmada
and its tributaries. The government has put forward several reasons
for the dams :-
Why
is the plan controversial?
There are a great many opponents to the plan, both at home and abroad. The
International Rivers Network campaigns against large scale dam projects (Figure
2) and it cites several reasons why the Narmada plan should not go ahead
in its current form :-
-
the
plan is unnecessarily large and costly. Smaller, more sustainable
and localised projects, perhaps using alternative technologies,
could help to relieve some of the water shortages in Gujarat.
-
some
of the areas in greatest need of irrigation are planned to
be at the far end of the irrigation canal network and would
not receive water until 2020
-
the
plans are based on insufficient hydrological and seismic data
- in the past, severe earthquakes have been linked to reservoir
construction
-
the
potential benefits are being grossly exaggerated and have been
based on inaccurate cost-benefit analysis
-
up
to 1 million people will be displaced and will need re-settlement.
The development of the largest dam, the Sardar Sarovar ( see
Figure1), alone is estimated to result in the displacement
of 32,000 people. It will affect the livelihoods of thousands
of others.
-
the
riverine ecosystem will be severely affected by the construction
of the dams
The
Maheshwar Dam
One of the 30 large dams in the Narmada Valley Development Project, the Maheshwar
dam has been particularly controversial. It is India's first privately financed
dam, a decision made necessary by the withdrawal of support from developmental
organisations following massive public protests to the Narmada Project as
a whole. With an estimated construction cost of $US 530 million, it is planned
to generate 400 Megawatts of energy. The
dam and subsequent flooding of the valley upstream is estimated
to displace 35,000 people and submerge 61 villages. Some of these
people make their living from the river, fishing or extracting
silt and sand - they are landless and look likely to receive
no compensation. Whilst the law requires land-for land rehabilitation,
critics report that some people have been offered cash alternatives
because there is insufficient land available (some 100,000 are
still awaiting resettlement in the state following earlier dam
projects!). Up
until 1998, despite work having already commenced on the dam
construction, there had been no local participation in the planning
process. In 1998 a Task Force was set up consisting of representatives
from the affected peoples, planners, and the dam builders. Doubts
were expressed about the cost-benefit analysis (the cost of resettlement
had been massively underestimated) and the Task Force recommended
suspension of work on the dam. The recommendation was ignored
by the Madhya Pradesh government. A report published by the German
NGO Urgewald in 1999, following a study of the project, concluded
that "if compensation at replacement value would be undertakenthe
project would very likely not be economically viable". Following
the publication of the report, two German backers (Bayernwerk
and V.E.W.) pulled out on social and environmental grounds. Whilst
there are still some foreign companies involved, including the
German company Siemens, it seems increasingly likely that investment
will need to come from within India itself. Meanwhile
the protests continue. They have taken the form of mass rallies
(one involved 12,000 people) and sit-ins (dharnas), some of which
have resulted in violent actions by the police, such as teargassing.
With the huge upwelling of local and international concern, the
future of the project is by no means secure and it remains a
risky proposition for investors. Extended
Activities and Internet Research
The Narmada Project is very much a current issue and details are changing
all the time. Whilst this case study gives you a good grounding of the 'story
so far', you should conduct your own research using the internet to update
this study. To
start with, try www.narmada.org. There is a great deal of information
here and some useful links to other organisations (e.g. International
Rivers Network - www.irn.org) and to newspaper articles. Produce
a report about the project, considering the potential benefits
and the reasons why so many people are against the project. Try
to be as objective as you can. Many of the organisations you
will come across, such as the Narmada Bachio Andolan (NBA) have
a particular point of view. Try to track down the Indian government's
position. What do you think should be done? Figure
1
Map reproduced with kind permission of International Rivers Network
http://www.irn.org/programs/narmada/map.html
Figure
2
The failure of large scale dam projects
'Large dams imply large budgets for related projects leading to large profits
for a small group of people. A mass of research shows that even on purely
technical grounds, large dams have been colossal failures. While they have
delivered only a fraction of their purported benefits, they have had an extremely
devastating effect on the riverine ecosystem and have rendered destitute
large numbers of people, whose entire sustenance and modes of living are
centred around the river. For no large dam in India has it been shown that
the resettled people have been provided with just compensation and rehabilitation.'
The International Rivers Network |
