2. Content
• Why dam???
• Introduction : Tehri dam
• History
• Project details
• Project benefits
• Issues and protests
• Major concern
• Mitigation measures
• Realities
• Conclusion
• References
3. Why dams???
• Hydro power is a clean,renewable,low-cost
alternative.
• Reliable and more efficient than any other
form of electricity generation.
• Supports various kinds of aesthetic and
recreation activities.
• Other benefits: manage flood water, irrigate
fields and provide water supply.
4. Introduction
• Initially taken up by the irrigation department
of Uttar Pradesh government.
• In 1998, was taken over by a joint venture
company of the government of India and Uttar
Pradesh government, called the Tehri Hydro
Development Corporation (THDC)
5. Introduction
• Location : On the Bhagirathi River.
200 miles north east of Delhi.
• Height : 855 feet (261 m)
5th tallest dam in the world.
• Capacity : power generation capacity of 2400
MW
provision of irrigation to an area of
270,000 hectares.
Supply of 270 million gallons of water.
6. History
• 1949 Tehri dam conceived.
• 1961 Tehri chosen as a tentative site for the
dam
• 1972 Planning Commission gives its nod to the
dam.
• 1978 Actual construction of the dam begins
under police protection.
7. Timeline for Tehri Dam
• Tehri Development
Project approved in
1972
• Construction started
1978
• Cofferdam completed
1996
• Closure of last two
tunnels December
2002
• Projected completion
August 2003
8. Project Details
• Frist multipurpose river valley project on
Bhagirathi ,the main tributary of the Ganga.
• 260.5m high earth and rockfill dam,spillway
structures and an underground power house
• The spillway have been designed for a
probable maximum flood (PMF) of 15540
cumecs computed for a return frequency of 1
in 10,000 years at the project site.
• Four diversion tunnels.
9. Projected benefits
• Final installed capacity of 2000 MW (only Phase I with
installed capacity of 1000 MW has been approved)
• Additional irrigation to 270,000
hectares
• Stabilization to existing irrigation on
600,000 hectares
• 270 million gallons of drinking water per day to
Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.
Note -: Tehri Development Project also includes the 97 meter
high Koteshwar Dam, under construction 14 miles
downstream of Tehri Dam. The 400 MW Koteshwar Dam will
either completely or partially submerge 16 villages
10. Benefits to Nation / Region
• 2400MW of environment friendly Peaking
power.
• Irrigation of 2.7lakh ha. Of new area.
• 162 million gallons per day of water supply to
Delhi.
• All round development of the region through
better infrastructure and easy avalaibility of
electricity.
• Development of pisciculture.
11. Benefits To Affected Population
• Development of Hill Station.
• Better Road Network.
• Education.
• Health.
• Electrification.
• Drinking water Facilities.
• Setting of new Industries.
• Tourism.
• Commercial Center.
12. Negative Impacts
• Change in the (i) water chemistry, especially
with respect to dissolved oxygen and (ii)
turbidity of water.
• Impact on biodiversity, i.e. flora and fauna of
the area.
• Obstruction of movements of migrating fish
species during breeding season.
• Reduction in the capacity and life of reservoir
was studied.
13. Issues Relating Tehri Dam
• Human Rights : Forced displacement of people
Diverting water from poor
communities
• Environmental : Catastrophic flood danger
Multiple environmental
review recommending
cancellation
• Corruption : Six corruption cases CBI
Inquiry but no result
14. Protests
• 1978 – Tehri Bandh Virodhi Sangharsh Samiti
(TBVSS)
• 74-day hunger strike in 1996 by Sunderlal
Bahuguna
• Many Anti-dam rallies and protest
15.
16. Obsolete Dam
Design
• The design of the
dam was finalized
in the 1960s
when scientific
understanding of
seismic hazards
and seismic
engineering
solutions were far
less advanced
than today
17. Seismic Risks
• Location : worlds most earthquake – prone
regions with several fault lines traversing the
project area
• Not adequately equipped to withstand
earthquakes of the magnitude expected
during its life span
• Designed for 7.2 ; expected: 8.5 or more
18.
19. Floods
• If the dam fails or a major landslide causes a huge
wave to overtop the reservoir , a 260 m high flood
wave would crash down into the densely
populated valleys below the dam, burying the
towns of Rishikesh, Hardwar, Bijnor, Meerut,
Hapur and Bulandshahar within hours and
devastating large areas of the Gangetic Plains.
• Estimate : 10 million people
• December 2001 : main bridge leading to Tehri
town and nearby areas submerged.
• Can lead to complete submergence of Tehri town
and surrounding villages.
20. Forced
Resettlement
Around 1 lakh people
affected directly or
indirectly
No resettlement plan:
some given
compensation, some
house, others nothing
Rehabilitation appalling
even through a sum of Rs
1117.15 lakh is reported
to have been spent
21. Displacement and
Rehabilitation
Although land acquisition
started in 1979, resettlement
of affected people is far from
complete There is no master
plan for rehabilitation nor
even a clear estimate of the
number of people affected
According to the 2002 Status
Report of the Public Works
Department of Tehri large
number of people who will
lose their lands but have not
been officially recognised as
project-affected
22. Popular Resistance
and Review
Tehri Dam has met
strong popular
resistance from its
earliest days. In 1978 a
Committee to Oppose
the Tehri Dam or the
Tehri Bandh Virodhi
Sangharsh Samiti
(TBVSS) was formed.
TVBSS succeeded in
pressuring authorities to
review the project on
several occasions. Anti-dam protest in Tehri Town
23. Popular Resistance and Review
• The project was abandoned in the mid 1980s after
being sharply criticized on environmental grounds by a
government appointed review committee
• In 1987 the project was again referred to a
committee of the Ministry of Environment to assess
its safety and environmental and social impacts. This
committee unanimously ruled against the project but
the Indian government overruled its findings and
restarted the project
24. Popular Resistance and Review
• After a 74-day hunger strike in 1996, Sunderlal Bahuguna,
a Gandhian activist and long-time opponent of the dam,
forced the government to set up a review of the seismic,
environmental and rehabilitation aspects of the project.
• Hanumantha Rao Committee submitted its report and
recommendations in 1997. The government has failed to
implement most of the committee’s recommendations,
especially those concerning rehabilitation
• In 1992 environmentalists filed a case in the Supreme
Court alleging that project authorities had not acquired
the mandatory environmental clearance for the dam.
25. Financial Viability
Issues
A cost-benefits analysis by
the Indian National Trust
for Art and Culture
Heritage (INTACH) Came
to the conclusion that the
costs of the US$2 billion
project will be at least
twice as high as the
expected benefits.
Tehri is “an enormous
squandering of public money.
26. Financial
Viability Issues
• 1980 : Rs.206 crores
• 1994 : Estimated
price- US$12 million
• 1999 : US$1.2 billion
• On completion of first
phase : July 2006
more than US$2.5
billion
27. Environmental
issues
The Tehri Dam has been
the object of protests by
environmental
organizations and local
people of the region.
Environmental activist
Sunderlal Bahuguna led
the Anti-Tehri Dam
movement for years,
from 1980s till
2004
A protest message against Tehri dam, which
was steered by Sundarlal Bahuguna for years.
It says “We don't want the dam. The dam is the
mountain’s destruction.”
28. Environmental issues
• The protest was against the displacement of town
inhabitants and environmental consequence of the weak
ecosystem.
• In addition to the human rights concerns, the project has
spurred concerns about the environmental consequences
of locating such a large dam in the fragile ecosystem of the
Himalayan foothills. There are further concerns regarding
the dam’s geological stability. The Tehri dam is located in
the Central Himalayan Seismic Gap, a major geologic fault
zone. This region was the site of a 6.8 magnitude
earthquake in October 1991, with an epicenter 53
kilometer's (33 mi) from the location of the dam.
29. Environmental issues
• Dam proponents claim that the complex is designed to
withstand an earthquake of 8.4 magnitude, but some
seismologists say that earthquakes with a magnitude of
8.5 or more could occur in this region Were such a
catastrophe to occur, the potentially resulting dam-
break would submerge numerous towns downstream,
whose populations total near half a million
• The relocation of more than 100,000 people from the
area has led to protracted legal battles over
resettlement rights, and ultimately resulted in the
project’s delayed completion
30. Other Concerns
• Life of Dam : Projected 100 years due to huge
volume of sediment that will be trapped in its
reservoir – reduced to 30-40
• Cost of electricity per unit : Almost trice the
average cost of power supply in the
neighboring states
31.
32. New Tehri
Situated at an
elevation
between 1550 to
1950 mts.
A modern and
well planned
town
Important centre
of attraction
41. Measures for Ecological Impacts
Compensatory Afforestation : afforestation in an
area of 4586.07 ha. In Lalitpur and Jhansi District.
Catchment area treatment : To reduce soil erosion
and 52.204 ha. Treated
Command area development : To mitigate water
logging and sanity and the network of field and
drains were developed
Flora and Fauna : Botanical garden (14.28ha.) to
preserve important flora and Mahseer fish
hatchery and fish farm
42. Measures for Ecological Impacts
• Water quality maintenance : No adverse effect
on the water quality and 5 monitoring stations
at upstream and downstream.
• Green belt : Along the rim of the reservoir
• Along the rim of the reservoir and resultant
siltation to protect and regenerate the
vegetation to increase the natural beauty
43. Measures for Social Impacts
• Better quality of living : Urban- better facilities,
scope foe expansion, planned growth
• Rural : better infrastructure and better quality of life
new road network and taped drinking water supply
• Employment generating schemes : dependent of
the project affected families was preferred for jobs
in THDC for treatment and soil conservation work
• Income generating schemes : Khadi production cum
training center
• Mushroom cultivation training organized by UP
state Horticulture &food preservation deptt.
44. Realities
• Compensation has been reserved for those
who had land in their name before 1985
• Only who had more than half of their lands
acquired qualify for complete rehabilitation
• Governments rehabilitation policy does not
clearly state anything about partially
submerged villages
45.
46. References
• IRN FACT SHEET” (PDF). Tehri Dam: 3. October
2002.
• Protectors of Nature”. The Hindu. 2016-06-23.
ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2016-07-03.
• Tehri dam, a factsheet published by
International Rivers (October 2002)
• Projects: Current Status”. Tehri Hydro
Development Corporation. Retrieved 5
October 2015.
