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So, what does all this mean? Is it another case of misguided armchair intellectualism? No, certainly not! We need energy, water and development but the key is to make it sustainable, harmonious with nature. There are remedies; some costly and some need sacrifices but all for collective good of humanity.
Charge: Extensive Corruption in Projects
Remedy
Countries like India have legislated acts on “Right to Information”. Under which people can seek information from public servants and offices, unless it is security related. Already, people are using it here and there to expose negligence, siphoning away of funds etc. Professionally accountability and transparency must be incorporated in deciding the scheduled rates of works. Overestimating is an institutionalized and universal problem.
Charge: Large Dams need in-depth analysis.
Remedy
Every direct and indirect aspect of large dam and its effects must be taken into account while analyzing costs and benefits. It must include, environmental and ecological costs of damages and restoration, costs of rehabilitation and resettlement of affected people, including the so called marginal sections, cost of giving land for land – in quantity and quality on par with lost land, cost of catchment protection and development, costs of preventing water logging, costs of distribution system of water, costs on account of delay and escalation. Such an analysis must be done in a transparent way and be open to public scrutiny.
Charge: Environmental Damages
Remedy
Large shallow dams are main offenders, due to vast areas of submersion. Height of dam must be limited when there is no appreciable gain in capacity or large scale ecological destruction is involved. Small and medium dams or a series of dams would cost less and can be easily built. Nature absorbed and recuperated from damage, in many cases, if damage is within limits. Small dams would give biodiversity a chance to continue. River silt discharging arrangement must be put in every large dam and be kept operational.
Charge: Rehabilitation and Resettlement
Remedy
Like, the employee colonies, the rehabilitation colonies must also be provided with basic amenities before actual translocation. The entire task must be planned with sensitivity to affected people’s culture, occupations, language and traditions. It must not be viewed as an obstacle in project execution, instead be made an integral part of it. Relocation must not make the ousted poorer while dam beneficiaries are made richer. It must also be gender sensitive. One would get to know of the true grind, the dam oustees are put through, only when one gets involved with them before and after the ouster.
Charge: Non existent or Bad Urban Planning
Remedy
Those who are at the helm of affairs like town planners must maintain professional and moral integrity to guide better city growth. When that is amply taken care of, technological appropriateness of projects must be assessed carefully. Geographical, seismic, human and environmental aspects of projects must be studied in detail.
Charge: Flood Control
Remedy
Reservoirs must not be filled to the brim in the very first opportunity and must not discharge huge surpluses all at once. Release of water could begin early and continue till the end of season approaches. This may at times cost a little loss of storage to dam owning organisations but the indirect benefits are too much to ignore. Extremely carefully designed operation schedules for all dams in a single basin with adequate time gaps between the releases of different dams on a same river must be prepared and implemented, with a view not to aggravate flood situations downstream when it is already raining.
Charge: River side Levees are counter productive.
Remedy
A viable alternative need to be developed for all new cases, to harmoniously grow crops in tandem with the river’s natural cycle of floods. Instead of intensive irrigation for three or more crops a year, two crops accommodating the river flood cycles need to be strictly implemented. All riverside habitations must be relocated away from bank or raised a little above the ground, so that the levees can be done away, by allowing free flooding. This courageous step must be taken and implemented to the extent possible. Increased fertility of flooded soil improves yield, decreases fertilser use and help riverine and marine ecology. Again, the indirect benefits outweigh the apparent loss in agricultaural production.
Charge: Engineers are Immune to Changes
Remedy
Instead of seeing human rights activists and environmental activists as anti-developmental, Civil Engineers must learn to see wisdom in this reasoning and make their business as green and humane as possible.
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