Introduction
to issues raised by the Kali Bachao Andolan
The Kali river is one of many rivers that flows in the richly forested
area of the Western Ghats. The river is 184 kms. long and flows
into the Arabian Sea. Check this schematic
map to get an idea of the river's location in Karnataka. Because
of the dissolved manganese ores in its waters that is gathered along
its flow, the river appears blackish. Like many rivers in India
that have been abused on the path of "development'', the Kali
River is no exception. It has been dammed, polluted, and sand-mined.
Damming
of the river
On the river, there are already 6 major dams which generate over
1200 MW of electricity while submerging over 32,000 acres of forests
in Uttara Kannada. In the process of generating this power, the
State has lost a lot of rich forests in the Western Ghats. Like
most developmental projects that involve displacement, displaced
people have not been adequately rehabilitated. The people who had
rich fertile land have been given land which cannot be farmed. As
a result, several people have migrated to Goa in search of jobs.
This is the familiar national story of displaced people ending up
in slums in urban areas.
Now,
a new dam has been proposed, to be sited at Mavalangi, near Dandeli.
If approved, it will be constructed by Murdeshwar Power Corporation
Limited (MPCL) to generate an additional 18 MW of power. However,
this comes at the cost of submerging an additional 86 hectares of
land. In total, 210 hectares of forest area will be submerged by
the dam (this includes forest land on either bank of the river,
river islands being submerged, river course that is part of reserved
forest area, and land acquired for transmission lines and roads).
The 70 hectares of forest land being submerged on both banks of
the Kali River abuts the Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary which has rare
flora and fauna.
When
the existing dams already generate 1200 MW of electricity, and when
the Kaiga nuclear plant generates another 400 MW of electricity,
and when the power consumed by Uttara Kannada district is a mere
17 MW, the obvious question that pops up is: Why is this new dam
being built? Is it worthwhile to pay the high environmental and
social costs to generate a mere 18 MW? Is it worth damming the last
remaining stretch of the Kali River that is still free-flowing?
Have other alternatives like improving efficiency of existing hydel
plants, micro-hydel and pico-hydel power generation (hydel power
generation that exploit the flow of the river to generate power
at low costs and no submergence) been explored? Haven't the people
of Uttara Kannada already paid enough costs for the larger development
of the cost?
Even
on purely legal grounds, the dam construction cannot proceed on
two counts. First, there is a Government notification of 18th May
1987 (No. FFD 242 FGL 83) that states no further projects can be
undertaken on the Kali river and its tributaries after the Kadra
and Kodasalli dams if they involve further loss of forest land.
Second, due to two instances of generating fraudulent EIAs (Environment
Impact Assessments) by its consultants (first by Ernst & Young
and second by Tata Energy Research Institute), this is a fit case
for rejection
On
financial grounds too, the new dam does not make much sense. At
a cost of over Rs.180 crores, the electricity costs over Rs.10 crore
per MW and is one of the costliest power projects proposed. There
have been reports that this power costs over 15 times the cost of
power produced by Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL).
On
several counts then, social, environmental, economic, legal, and
developmental policy grounds, the new dam does not make sense and
needs to be scrapped.
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![](effluents.joining.river.jpeg) |
Industrial
Pollution
The Dandeli Paper Mills at Dandeli on the banks of the Kali River
releases large volumes of untreated effluents directly into the
river thus polluting the river and converting a clean and beautiful
river into a toxic waste stream. For communities who depend on this
river, the adverse impact of these accumulated pollutants is quite
significant. There have been losses in agriculture, dairy farming,
and fisheries. Farmers indirect contact with the water suffer from
a variety of skin diseases. Farmers that use this polluted water
for irrigation find layers of pulp left behind covering the soil.
The
concerned regulatory agency, the Karnataka Pollution Control Board
has done very little to contain the damage, thereby allowing the
Mills a free run on its polluting spree. Only recently, due to pressure
from local communities under the banner of Kali Bachao Andolan,
has there been some response with the local Assistant Commissioner
initiating criminal proceedings against the company. Note that the
demand is not a closure of the Dandeli Paper Mills. Rather it is
to get the mill to clean up its operations for the benefit of all
- including the employees of the mill. |