10-08-2012, 02:30 PM
INTERLINKING OF RIVER BASINS:THEIR ECONOMIC AND ECOLOGICAL EFFECTS
INTERLINKING OF RIVER BASINS nithish seminar.pptx (Size: 201.51 KB / Downloads: 78)
BENEFITS
Flood Control (40 Mha area and 260 million people saved from floods which causes crores of rupees damage)
Drought proofing (86 million people in 14 states, 116 districts saved)
Relief of crores of rupees per year for floods/ drought damages
Irrigation: 35 Mha
Hydropower generation 34 000 MW installed capacity.
70 lpcd water to every citizen.
Navigation
ECONOMIC IMPACT
The national water development agency has estimated a budget of 112 billion USD(Rs 5 60 000 cr) at 2002 prices for the entire project. However, it is estimated and accepted widely that the cost may go up to 200 billion USD.
Apart from estimated cost, recurring expenditure would be incurred in maintenance of dams, desilting reservoirs, relining canals and creating artificial drainage where needed
External costs like those arising from harm done to the environment, ecology, wildlife and social costs have not been taken into account.
The estimated cost itself represents 20% of India’s Gross Domestic Product, 2.5 times the annual tax collection, 2 times the foreign exchange reserves and equals the amount spent on irrigation in the last 44 years.
TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY
The slope, altitude and other topographical aspects have to be considered. For e.g. for Ganga, Patna for raising water to Vindhya chain i.e., 1730 m. Enormous amount of power is required which means more cost.
Rehabilitation cost
Estimated that 8 000 sq. km. of land affecting the thousands of villages and towns.
33 million people have been displaced in India during the last 50 years. Most have not been rehabilitated and ILR will also displace million of people from the most needy section.
The government will have to bear all these costs for rehabilitating people . And the amount will surely be huge.
CONCLUSION BASED ON ECONOMIC IMPACT
The above numbers imply that the cost of the project is huge and the burden arising from it will have to be borne by the government and the people for a very long time
Starting a project of this magnitude, when there are so many incomplete projects that are pending, seems an uphill task.
ECOLOGICAL IMPACT
50 000 ha of forest to be submerged only by peninsular link.
Intensive irrigation in unsuitable soils will lead to
water logging and salinity.
Highly polluted rivers will spread toxicity to other
rivers.
Deforestation: destruction of livelihood for surrounding population, large number of environmental impacts
Land slides due to tunnels and other construction.
Loss of opportunity of development for the deprived people
Effect on morphology :- The sediments from the northern rivers tend to settle in the peninsular region during the transfer of surplus water from their basin .
Effect on fauna :- The various species adapted to the dry lands will no more have an ecosystem since dry lands will be converted into wetlands. But these wetlands will attract other species . Hence these links will have a huge impact on the fauna surrounding the links.
CONCLUSION BASED ON ECOLOGICAL IMPACT
As mentioned before the ecological impact is completely negative. India cannot afford to undergo such impacts since there are other mandatory projects which inevitably cause such impacts as well.
The main purpose of ILR is to maintain flood and drought prone areas . But as mentioned before it will fail to make a huge impact on all the flood and drought prone areas.
TOPIC CONCLUSION
Even though there are numerous short comings and demerits in the project , the positive impact exceed the limitations as a whole . Every project has pros and cons and some trade-offs have to be accepted which is the case in this project.
The legal aspects regarding the water laws have to be relooked . The right of water or the sustenance of human beings and animals( including farm animals) require protection and the laws may have to be modified .
The repercussions of these projects on the political aspects have not been considered and the technical feasibility has been given a thrust in the task .