The power of water

India must resume development of hydroelectric power

At a time when energy security has become critical and environmental concerns emanating from the use of conventional fossil fuels are also growing, it is ironical that the bulk of India’s huge hydropower production potential, deemed as the world’s fifth largest, remains untapped. Hydroelectricity, being clean, renewable, inflation-neutral and cost-effective in the longer run, is considered a preferred form of energy in most countries. But India has come to neglect this source. Consider the facts. Hydroelectricity accounts for as much as 90 per cent of the total power production in over 20 countries and more than 50 per cent in over 65 others. In India, on the other hand, the hydropower’s share in total electricity output has plummeted to a meagre 22 per cent from 44 per cent in the 1970s. Worse, the actual power generation (in terms of number of units) from the installed capacity is gradually dwindling due chiefly to unabated siltation of reservoirs and poor maintenance. It is reckoned to have tumbled by about 30 per cent in past 15 years — from 3.97million units per every Mw installed capacity in 1994-95 to 2.87 million units in 2009-10. Yet, no new major or medium hydropower-cum-irrigation project has been launched since the 8th Plan. Many of the projects planned and approved earlier are either still languishing or have taken much longer to come up than originally scheduled, resulting in substantial cost overruns. Besides, the fate of some of the projects under implementation faces uncertainty. The 600-Mw Loharinag Pala project has recently been shelved because a large stretch of river Bhagirathi in Uttarakhand has, in a first move of its kind, been declared as a dam-free zone. This has been done largely on religious grounds, though ecological reasons have also been cited. The Kol dam project in Himachal Pradesh is beset with delays due to design problems.

 

Resistance from local people, especially those facing evacuation from dam sites and submergence zones, apart from a handful of anti-dam activists, is the main bane of the large and medium hydropower projects. What is disregarded in the process is the fact that these projects ultimately lead to the development of the region by providing power, irrigation and drinking water. Of course, it cannot be denied that there have been instances where the evacuees have not been suitably compensated and rehabilitated, but these are really administrative glitches that can and, in fact, should be removed. Small and micro hydropower projects provide another opportunity for augmenting power production and deriving other advantages like irrigation and drinking water to cater to local area needs. Such projects, many of which can be run-of-the-river projects, generally do not run into the kind of problems that the large projects face. Besides, they do not require huge investments. Nor do they interfere, in most cases, with the fragile ecology of hills. Unfortunately, no more than 20 per cent of their total assessed power production potential of about 15,000 Mw has actually been harnessed as of now. This level can easily be raised to 50 per cent in short period. One way of doing so is to allow development of such projects with full or partial private investment and community participation. A proper policy regime needs to be put in place for this purpose.