Version imprimableTo
The Prime Minister,
On 10/8/21 over 60 citizens of our nation wrote to you expressing utmost concern over the recent decision of the Government of India to restart seven under-construction hydroelectric projects (HEPs) on the Ganga, in the Himalayan basin. The signatories representing a wide spectrum of our public, are prominent scientists, politicians, lawyers, social activists, field experts, villagers and members of reputed environmental organizations, all with a long experience and ground knowledge of the issues we have raised.
The planet is now being devastated by extreme weather events, which are only set to increase with the rapid onset of climate change. One of the major impacts will be on glaciers, that are melting and retreating across the globe. This phenomenon will have a tremendous impact on rivers and water bodies. For example, the glacial lake outbursts, floods, and avalanches like the recent ones in Chamoli district are expected to increase significantly. Similarly, it is anticipated that the frequencies and magnitude of extreme weather events such as high precipitation (cloudbursts) and draughts would adversely impact the Himalayan ecosystem particularly the rivers and waterways. The human suffering this will entail is also a matter of dread. In such a scenario, large scale reservoir dams like Lakhwar HEP on the Yamuna, that are yet awaiting cabinet approval, will only aggravate the crisis.
HEPs that lie right in the path of rivers, are bound to be destroyed or extensively damaged, as we witnessed all too clearly in 2013 during Kedarnath and the 2021 Chamoli floods. Thousands of crores of public funds were literally washed away overnight. Adding to that the aggravation of the natural disasters which these HEPs caused, resulting in traumatic deaths and immeasurable human suffering, makes the decision to invest in such projects inexplicable and unjustifiable.
The disappearance of the Ganga into tunnels through bumper-to-bumper projects is a cultural and civilizational loss, for which the future generations will hold us to account. Destroying rivers, our primary water source, will also prove disastrous in a world where water scarcity is predicted to be severe enough to threaten life itself. We have learnt the costly lesson that HEPs ultimately do not contribute to progress or development for the
