PEOPLE AND THEIR PROBLEMS

New Delhi, 13 January 2006

Small is beautiful

DANGERS OF MEGA HYDEL PROJECTS

By Radhakrishna Rao

A high environmental cost, a massive investment and an appreciable shortfall in the designed lifespan due to siltation    have become the recurring features of multi-purpose, multi-billion  rupee mega hydel power projects across the world. The scenario in India is not much different from the rest of the world. In fact, the easy and inexpensive availability of water  from these mammoth water control projects  have led to farmers using water indiscriminately which, in turn, has unleashed problems of water logging.

On another front, widespread destruction of rich and luxuriant forests  and massive dislocation of human settlements are invariably associated with the  setting up of such projects. The ambitious  Narmada Sagar-Sardar Sarovar project stands out as stark testimony to the negative fallouts of a large multi-purpose projects.

Against this backdrop, small, mini and micro hydel projects are gaining in importance  and are becoming popular  as an eco-friendly, cost effective  alternative to big hydel schemes. In fact, a large part of southern Nepal meets its power needs through micro hydel projects set up on the streams of Himalayan rivers. Karnataka, which is planning to set up  close to 200 mini hydel power projects, is keen to utilize the potentials of the fast  flowing  streams in the depths of the biologically  diverse and ecologically rich Western Ghats.

“Mini hydel plants are not prone to environmental problems associated with large projects .They can also set up on the run offs, canals and lakes. The only problem is to find space for the project. From outside, we will ensure proper cooperation and transparent clearance to the project  as we do not even see a problem of water pollution since it would be used and released  in a controlled manner” says  an official of the Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Corporation(KREDC).

In the neighbouring Kerala, people inhabiting the stretches of Western Ghats have taken initiative to  set up the  mini hydel power projects as part of the People’s Planning campaign that began in the State in  1996. The State Planning Board reckons that one of the greatest  achievements  of people’s planning  in the State was the installation of small hydel power projects by the active participation of the local community. Indeed, the local population groups in southern Kerala have found that these projects do not come with social and environmental costs that invariably accompany large hydro-power programme.

Indeed, and not surprisingly, the string of community managed mini hydel power projects in the forest of rich Idukki district provides an excellent example of  the sustainable use of the hydel power. Currently, there are more than 200 such hydel power plants in Idukki district of Kerala. Interestingly, these units were started either by a group of people  or by local bodies. An in-depth study of these plants by the Kottayam-based Centre for Rural  Management(CRM) shows that a large number  of these units were set up by the people with no technical background.

A majority of these units provide water satisfactorily for more than nine months a year. .The installed capacity of a significant number of these units is a little more than 200 watts per hour. In fact, a majority of these units were installed by the finance mobilized by individual households of through personal loans.

On the other hand, the Himachal Pradesh Government has assigned  more that 200 micro hydel projects for implementation  through the active participation of  the private sector When implemented in full, these micro projects would make available  more than 450-MW of power. In the remote Malari  village in the Neeti valley in the higher reaches of Himalayas, a 50 KW micro hydel power plant set by the New Delhi-based Society for the Promotion of Wastelands Development (SPWD)stands out as successful model of participation by various sectors in community development.

The plant  provides electricity to 80 per cent of the houses in the village at a cost of Rs.20 per household per month. Interestingly, no government agencies were involved in the setting of this plant.The design was finalized with the significant inputs from the villagers and all steps in the development of the plant  had to be approved  by the villagers during regular meetings The villagers who were trained  at similar community run micro hydel power plants in the neighbouring Nepal operate the plant. In fact, the active  public participation in the operation of the plant is considered a major factor behind the success of this project.

Significantly, Chitral district in Pakistan has now one of   the highest concentrations of mini hydel power plants in the world. The Aga Khan Rural Support Programme and other voluntary organizations have between them built more than 200 micro hydel power plants in this picturesque part of Pakistan. The micro hydel power plants are providing electricity for more than 15,000 households in the district. Much of the success of the programme is due to the presence of fast flowing streams endowed with abundant water and active involvement of the people in the operation of these hydel power plants.

According to the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), capital alliance is one of the major prerequisites for the promotion of small hydro power schemes. Experts also point out that small hydro power generation could be widely popularized because it is economical and environmentally friendly. Moreover, for the impoverished population group in the remote rural settlements of the third world, the mini hydel power plants are the most ideal and  affordable source of meeting their day to day power requirements.---INFA

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