Article on Effects of Tehri Dam

EFFECTS (IMPACTS) OF TEHRI DAM By S.C.Sharma, Former General Manager THDC Ltd.

1.

INTRODUCTION

The probabl probablee effect effectss of human human act! act!t tes es regard regardng ng the use of en!ro en!ronme nmenta ntall reso resour urce cess on natu natura rall en!r en!ron onme ment nt s call called ed en! en!ro ronm nmen enta tall mpac mpact, t, and the the assessment and e!aluaton of en!ronmental effects of human act!tes are called en!ronment en!ronmental al mpact assessment assessment "#$%&. Thus, #$% s an nstrument nstrument to dentfy dentfy and assess the potental en!ronmental mpacts of a proposed pro'ect, e!aluate altern alternat at!es !es,, and desgn desgn appropr approprat atee mtg mtgat aton, on, managem management ent and monto montor rng ng measures. #$% should also be conducted for socal en!ronments, en!ronments, .e., mpacts mpacts of   pro'ect on human bengs. The man act!tes n!ol!ed n #$% are ( "& $dentfcat $dentfcaton on of of l)ely l)ely mpacts. mpacts. "& Conducton of baselne studes to collect !arous a!alable nformaton related related to the partcular mpact. "& "& $mpact $mpact pred predct cton on and and assess assessmen ment. t. "!&$mpact nterpretaton or e!aluaton. "!& $dentfcaton of montorng re*urements re*urements and mtgatng mtgatng measures. measures.

2.

ENVIRO IRONMEN MENTAL IMPA MPACTS OF OF TEHRI DA DAM

The +ro'ect has dentfed both post!e and negat!e mpacts. #fforts ere made to get full ad!antage of post!e mpacts by formulatng sutable schemes. %s e )no that dam s essentally an artfcal all constructed across a r!er  hch hch con!erts con!erts a runnn runnng g ater ater ecosyste ecosystem m nto nto a la)e la)e type type ecosys ecosystem tem.. Ths Ths causes some changes n basc r!erne ecosystem. Therefore, thorough studes ere got conducted for the l)ely negat!e mpacts of dam and ts reser!or, through through e-pert agences. Mtgatn Mtgatng g measures, measures, here necessary necessary,, ere ta)en on l)ely negat!e mpacts. +robable mpacts dentfed for detaled studes ere ( a. L)ely change change n the "& "& ater chemst chemstry ry,, especally especally th th respect respect to dssol!ed dssol!ed o-ygen and "& turbdty of ater.  b. L)ely mpact on bod!ersty, bod!ersty, .e., flora and fauna of the area. c. L)ely L)ely obstruc obstruct ton on of mo!eme mo!ements nts of mgratn mgratng g fsh fsh spece specess durng durng breed breedng ng season.

d. !ers carry a lot of sedment, hch on constructon of a dam, ll be loc)ed up behnd the dam all. The collected slt n the reser!or eats aay the capacty of the reser!or. Ths mpact of reducng the capacty and lfe of  reser!or as studed. e. L)ely mpact of ater accumulaton on the upstream sde of the dam, hch causes nundaton of land ncludng forest/land. f. Snce 012 !llages "full or partal& and Tehr ton "full& ere affected and the resdents ere to !acate ther ancestral homes and agrcultural felds, a scheme as prepared, to resettle these people, th the dea to mpro!e ther  l!ng standard, )eepng ther socal bonds ntact. g. L)ely problem of ater/loggng and salnty of the land n the command area. The studes on all the abo!e l)ely mpacts ere got conducted through the e-pert organsatons. The studes ncluded the parameters as mentoned n para 0 abo!e.

3.

MITIGATING MEASURES TAKEN ON ASSESSED IMPACTS

Based on the mpact assessment studes, !arous mtgatng measures ere desgned. $n order to mtgate probable mpacts follong measures3safeguards ere ta)en( A. MEASURES FOR ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS 1.

Compen!"o#$ A%%o#e"!"&on Forest land of 4025.605 ha. ere d!erted for constructon of Tehr Dam +ro'ect and 7oteshar +ro'ect "n the donstream of Tehr +ro'ect&. Ths forest/land ncluded the land used n constructon of +ro'ect, +ro'ect colones, resettlement colones and fllng of reser!or. %ganst ths, +ro'ect has completed the compensatory afforestaton n an area of  4869.1: ha. n Laltpur and ;hans Dstrct. $n addton, for 0586.<1 ha. forest/land d!erted n second phase for rural resettlement, the compensatory afforestaton has been carred out n <:09.41 ha. of  degraded forest/land of 7hanpur forest range n Hardar Dstrct.

2.

C!"'men" A#e! T#e!"men" $n order to reduce sol eroson "for reducng sedmentaton n the reser!or&, the Tehr +ro'ect had completed the Cathcment %rea Treatment "C%T& n the entre degraded catchment, n areas of =Hgh> and =?ery Hgh> eroson class. The total degraded area treated s 8<,<14 ha. "ncludng 44,08: ha. of forest land and the 614: ha. of agrcultural land&. The C%T or)s ncluded the or)s of afforestaton, sol conser!aton, treatment of agrculture land, farm forestry, hortculture etc. The man ob'ect!e of C%T or)s as to chec) sol eroson and resultant sltaton n the reser!or.

3.

Comm!n A#e! De*e+opmen" Command %rea De!elopment +lan had been mplemented by the $rrgaton Departments of the State Go!ernments of @ttara)hand and @.+. $n order to mtgate the l)ely problem of ater/loggng and salnty, the netor) of feld channels and drans ere de!eloped. The canal netor)s are utlAed to rrgate <.: lac ha. addtonal area as ell as stablAe e-stng rrgaton area n 9.14 lac ha.

,.

F+o#! $n C%T or)s, the speces as recommended by Botancal Sur!ey of  $nda "BS$&, based on ther flora study of the area, ha!e been planted. % Botancal Garden n an area of 04.<6 ha. has also been establshed and  plantaton of specal speces comng under submergence has been completed, so as to preser!e mportant flora of the regon.

-.

F!n! Faunal studes ere got conducted through oologcal Sur!ey of $nda "S$&, for fauna affected due to formaton of reser!or. %s per S$ studes there ll be no ad!erse mpact on mammals, %!es "Brds&, eptles "Sna)es and LAards&, %mbhba "Frogs  Toads& and +sces "Fresh ater Fshes& due to proposed reser!or e-cept on Tor-Putitora (Mahseer Fish)

%s suggested by S$, acton plan for possble mtgaton of Mahseer  fsh as framed. The mplementaton of ths acton plan as ta)en up th the Eatonal esearch Centre on Cold ater Fsheres "ECCF&, $C%, Bhmtal. The Mahseer Fsh Hatchery and fsh Farm ha!e been de!eloped and s n operaton. The faunal study ha!e also ponted that the formaton of proposed reser!or th a mass!e ater e-posure on about 4< s*. )m., a large number of mgratory brds may be attracted to the area, thus addng to the aesthetc and toursm aspect of the +ro'ect. Therefore, as suggested n the study report, the perphery of the reser!or ha!e been sutably  planted by bushes, shrubs and trees. Ths ll help not only n the rehabltaton of %!es "Brds&, but ll also attract other groups of  anmals. The bushes, shrubs and undergroth ha!e therefore been  pro!ded as deal shelter to sna)es and lAards also. /.

0!"e# !+&"$ M!&n"en!n'e The ater *ualty modelng study had been carred out, hch concluded that no specfc measures are re*ured and there ould be no ad!erse effect on the ater *ualty due to mpoundment. Hoe!er, the or) on ater *ualty montorng on Tehr eser!or, both upstream and donstream s beng carred out at 8 montorng statons.

The ater *ualty study also concluded that Dssol!ed -ygen "D..& and Bologcal -ygen Demand "BD& n hole of reser!or are e-pected to reman thn permssble lmts desred for drn)ng ater  resources. %nother mathematcal model study on ater crculaton concluded that ater n reser!or remans under dynamc crculaton throughout the year and does not reman stagnant. .

G#een e+" % green Belt ha!e been planned to be created along the rm of the reser!or beteen 681 m abo!e MSL and 0181 m abo!e MSL. The dea for de!elopng the green belt s to chec) sol eroson and resultant sltaton of the reser!or to protect and regenerate the !egetaton n the rm area to ncrease the natural beauty of the landscape.

4.

Imp!'" on Hm!n He!+" % comprehens!e study of the potental health mpacts of Tehr dam as conducted. Eatonal Malara #radcaton +rogramme "EM#+& and Malara esearch Centre "MC& carred out detaled feld n!estgatons of the area. %cton/plan for pre!ent!e3mtgaton measures s beng mplemented.

Dust polluton n pro'ect area ere )ept under control by regular  sprn)lng of ater. Dust polluton le!els ere also montored at the  pro'ect ste and habtat area by conductng the study on the samples so collected. . MEASURES FOR SOCIAL IMPACTS 1.

e""e# !+&"$ o% L&*&n5 $n order to ache!e the ob'ect!e of =better *ualty of lfe> follong steps ere ta)en through  programme. The dea s to ensure that settlers are pro!ded opportuntes to become establshed and economcally self  sustanng n shortest possble perod. !. U#6!n

.

Better *ualty of l!ng. @rban populaton as pro!ded better  facltes l)e better and der road netor), seerage system, hosptal th enhanced capacty, stadum and other amentes, scope for e-panson, planned groth.

. Larger school buldngs th hostel accommodaton ll enable ther management to enhance ther capactes. % larger 

@n!ersty campus has been constructed n addton to a college )eepng n !e the future needs of the regon. . More employment opportuntes due to hgh toursm potental and ndustres l)ely to come up due to e-cellent nfrastructure a!alable n ETT and surroundng areas. !. 011 economcally bac)ard and houseless persons no ha!e free housng at ETT, of hch they ould become oners. 6. R#!+

.

The all round de!elopment of the area ould lead to prosperty,  better nfrastructure and better *ualty of lfe.

. Ee road netor) and taped drn)ng ater supply sa!e the tme of people hch can be utlAed for other or)s. . Due to the ncrease n land holdng, .e., aganst the e-stng less than 0 acre a!erage ranfed land holdng, to the allotted < acres ell rrgated and de!eloped land, yeld and total ncome s e-pected to ncrease. !. Due to payment of House Constructon %ssstance to +%Fs, the +%F ha!e been able to construct better houses, hch has resulted n mpro!ement n ther l!ng standards. !. Landless agrcultural labours ha!e also become oners of < acres of agrcultural land and ndependent houses. !. +eople ho ll not be shfted "abo!e the reser!or le!el& shall  be benefted due to Catchment %rea Treatment, toursm, fshery de!elopment and hortculture, apart form nfrastructural de!elopment. !. %s most resettlement colones are on mportant locatons3on mportant hghays, +%Fs ha!e opened ther shops, hch are helpng them n generatng more ncome. Such people are n a  poston to turn dsplacement nto an opportunty to get e!en more rcher than they ere. !. The resettlement stes are located on mportant routes of  Dehradun and Hardar dstrcts hch helps n adoptng self  employment or)s. 2.

Emp+o$men" 7 In'ome Gene#!"&n5 S'eme

A. Emp+o$men"

& For employment n the THDC, preference as g!en to the dependents of the pro'ect affected famles, partcularly n the category of or)men  super!sors, sub'ect to !acances and ther meetng the necessary lad don *ualfcatons and e-perence re*urements. & %part from ths, the contractors deployed on the +ro'ect a sAable or) force form the local area. & $n order to pro!de ganful employment to the local populaton, THDC aarded small !alue contracts to the local people. !& For treatment and sol conser!aton or) n the Catchment %rea, the forest and other concerned departments, ha!e employed more  persons. !& th the constructon of the Ee Tehr Ton at a hgh alttude, formaton of reser!or, better road netor) etc., t s e-pected that there ll be an all round de!elopment n the area, hch ll further enhance the employment opportuntes due to settng up of ne non/pollutng ndustres, better toursm opportuntes through de!elopmental act!tes, hch ll n turn help n generatng ndrect employment n commercal !entures, l)e  boatng, transport, !ehcle repar shops, busness, hotel ndustres and se!eral other ndrect act!tes. !& th a !e to encourage the dspossessed famles ta)ng to useful !ocatons, l)e poultry farmng, florculture, psc/culture, anmal husbandry, handcrafts, )had or) etc. the Go!ernment agences ha!e ta)en up !arous self/employment 3 ncome generatng schemes. . In'ome Gene#!"&n5 S'eme

Snce t as not possble to g!e drect employment to all unemployed youth from +%Fs n the pro'ect. % group as formed n THDC for helpng the resettled famles to ta)e ad!antage of !arous schemes of Self/employment and $ncome Generaton beng mplemented by !arous Go!t. and Sem Go!t. agences. The group organAed !arous act!tes for the benefts of +%+s as under  & rganAed aareness camps at %thoorala and 7hand aala so that +%+s should come forard as rural entrepreneurs. The group n!ted the offcals of !arous State3Central Go!ernment

agences l)e 7had ?llage  $ndustry Commsson, State Hortculture  Food +reser!aton Deptt., State Serculture Deptt., State Fsheres Deptt., Lead ban)  +oultry Deptt., etc. Durng these camps +%+s ere g!en detaled )noledge about !arous e-stng schemes, tranng act!tes, loanng procedure etc. & Beng nfluenced th these aareness programmes +%+s started shong the nterest n !arous schemes. +%+s nterested for  Mushroom cult!aton re*uested the group for organAng tranng. Group arranged tranng n three batches through @+ State Hortculture  Food +reser!atons Deptt. Dehradun to ma)e +%+s self/employed by adoptng Mushroom cult!aton as a means of $ncome Generaton on commercal bass. & $n order to create addtonal source of ncome for +%+s one 7had producton cum tranng center as opened by 7had ?llage  $ndustry Commsson "7?$C& and 7shetrya Shr Gandh %shram, Dehradun at resettlement ste %thoorala. %bout 51 +%+s ere traned at ths center on Ee Model Char)ha @nts "EMC&. The EMC unt alongth re!ol!ng funds for or)ng captal, has been pro!ded by 7?$C, hereas tranng e-penses and space shed for tranng as arranged by the +ro'ect. !& Tranng centers for lades n talorng and embrodery or) ere establshed at %thoorala, aala and +athr Bloc). The centers ha!e been strengthened and e-panded by pro!dng seng machnes, 7nttng machnes, typng machnes, multpurpose pee)o and fashon desgnng machnes and ra materal. !& The group as n constant touch th the Bloc) De!elopment ffcers "BD& of State Go!ernment. Thus, the +%+s ere  benefted by these de!elopment schemes run by the State Go!ernment through the BD.

,.

POSITIVE IMPACTS A. ENEFITS TO NATION 8 REGION

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<411 M of en!ronment frendly +ea)ng +oer "985< M@ of %nnual #nergy&  0111 M "585< M@ of %nnual #nergy& n Stage/$. Ths s  bound to lead to ndustral and agrcultural groth n the Eorthern egon.

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0
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%ddtonal energy form donstream run/off/the r!er schemes.

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$rrgaton of <.: la)h ha. of ne area, besdes stablAaton of rrgaton n already rrgated 9.1 la)h ha.

!&

511 cusecs "09< mllon Gallons per day& of ater supply to Delh, hch ll meet drn)ng ater need of 4 mllon people.

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<11 cusecs "016 mllon gallons per day& of ater supply to @+ hch ll meet drn)ng ater need of about 5 mllon people.

!& The pro'ect ould lead to all round de!elopment of the regon through  better nfrastructure and easy a!alablty of electrcty, partcularly pea)  tme poer. !& Flood moderaton durng monsoon by ay of storage of e-cess ater. -&

De!elopment of pscculture.

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$ntegrated de!elopment of the catchment area ncludng afforestaton and sol conser!aton of 8<,<14 ha. of se!erely eroded land.

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th the formaton of la)e, presence of !arous types of fsheres, ater  l)ng brds and certan speces of ld lfe has b een notced.

. ENEFITS TO AFFECTED POPULATION &) De*e+opmen" o% H&++ S"!"&on For shftng of old Tehr Ton a ne modern ton named as Ee Tehr Ton "ETT& has been de!eloped at a heght of 0881/0681 m. abo!e MSL hch s at heght almost smlar to that of Mussorre. Ths ton has all modern facltes. %fter the formaton of reser!or la)e, ths ton hch o!erloo) the la)e has become a beautful hll staton. Ths ll attract toursm. &&) e""e# Ro! Ne"9o#:  Due to constructon of +ro'ect, roads of the area ha!e been dened and mpro!ed hch made communcaton easer and comfortable. sh)esh/ Chamba/ETT roads ha!e also been dened and geometry ha!e been mpro!ed hch has resulted n reducton of 'ourney tme. Smlarly, Chamba/Dharasu road hch ultmately leads to @ttar)ash ha!e been constructed th better specfcatons. ther roads l)e E.T.T   Bhagrahtpuram  Tpr  Ghansal ha!e also been constructed for  comfortable 'ourney.

The brdges namely ero brdge, Syansu brdge, +paldal brdge ha!e  been made. ne more motor brdge "HM?& at Dobra s beng Constructed. $n addton, Ferry ser!ce at Bhaldyana s also operatonal. &&&) E'!"&on For shftng of educatonal nsttutons of ld Tehr Ton, larger   buldngs th modern facltes ere constructed so that more number  of students can be accommodated, hle ha!ng scope for further  e-panson n future. $n most of the educatonal nsttutons, Hostel facltes for 691 students ha!e been pro!ded, though t as not e-stng n ld Tehr. Thus, more students comng from the nearby areas ll be benefted as  ETT s e-pected to de!elop as a nodal center for educaton n the regon. %ganst e-stng degree college runnng n ld Tehr Ton, a degree college and a bg un!ersty campus ha!e been constructed at Badshahthaul hch can accommodate 411 resdental students and also the teachng staff. $n addton, for the students of !llages ho ere studyng n ld Tehr, 4 degree colleges ha!e been constructed at pro'ect cost. Smlarly, aganst one $nter College n ld Tehr, one $nter college n  E.T.T. and 4 $nter colleges n !llages ha!e been constructed. 

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&*) He!+" %ganst << bed Hosptal of ld Tehr, :8 bed Hosptal ha!e been constructed at Ee Tehr Ton, th modern medcal facltes. $n addton, 8 numbers +rmary Health Centers th ndoor treatment facltes "totalng to :1 beds& ha!e been constructed at +ro'ect cost. To pro!de hygenc condtons, treated ater s suppled to houses and a central seerage treatment plant ha!e been constructed th a  properly desgned netor) of seer lnes connectng houses and other   buldngs of the ton. 

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*) E+e'"#&%&'!"&on For mpro!ng electrcty dstrbuton system n nearby rural areas, 5 nos. 55 7? sub/statons ha!e been constructed and netor) of LT3HT transmsson lnes ha!e also been made at pro'ect cost. *&) D#&n:&n5 0!"e# F!'&+&"&e 84 numbers drn)ng ater schemes n rural areas and Ee Tehr ton ha!e been constructed and made operatonal at +ro'ect cost. They shall no be operated and mantaned by respect!e agences. *&&) S&%"&n5 o% D&"#&'" He! !#"e# th the shftng of dstrct head *uarter from Earendra Eagar to Ee Tehr, a dstance of about 91 )m ha!e been reduced for the urban and rural

 populaton of Tehr resultng nto sa!ng of tme and ncon!enence to the  publc ha!ng or) at dstrct le!el offces. Besdes, +ratap Eagar Tehsl hch as functonng from ld Tehr, ha!e  been shfted to +ratap Eagar tself n nely constructed buldng. *&&&) Se""&n5 o% Ne9 In"#&e The Ee Tehr Ton s !ery sutable for settng up of Eon/pollut!e $ndustres due to ts better clmate and e-cellent communcaton facltes. %s the poer s no easly a!alable after the constructon of  dam, more factores are l)ely to come up as ETT has e-cellent nfrastructure as ell. &;) To#&m The Ee Tehr Ton s a pre/planned hll ton th all modern facltes. Hence, t s e-pected to de!elop as a ma'or tourst hll staton n near future. By creaton of la)e due to the mpoundment of the reser!or of Tehr Dam, scope for ater sports ll be there. $n the master plan, areas ha!e been earmar)ed for resorts, hch are e-pected to pro!de facltes for comfortable stay of toursts. Due to der and mpro!ed roads, communcaton has become easer  hch s !ery mportant for de!elopment of toursm. Due to toursm de!elopment, Hotel $ndustry n the area ll ncrease, hch ll further help the local people n gettng employment. 

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;) Comme#'&!+ Cen"#e  Ee Tehr Ton mar)et s de!elopng as a mar)et for ad'onng tons3!llages n the regon and s e-pected to come up as a nodal commercal centre n the regon because of ts !ocatonal ad!antage and  better nfrastructure facltes l)e roads, telecommuncaton and properly desgned shoppng centre. The shops area s also larger and made of CC structure and ha!e greater storage capactes for goo ds.