Condition Assessment and Management Plan for Periyar in the pipeline
Besides the Periyar, the river basins under the study included the Godavari, Narmada, Mahanadi, Cauvery, and Krishna.
The project would enable preparation of an action plan for holistic development of river basins, including conservation and rejuvenation of rivers/tributaries, restoration of the river ecosystem and improvement of ecological health of the waterbodies, according to a report dated June 18, 2025 submitted by the Department of Water Resources before the Southern Bench of the tribunal.
It was submitted as part of a petition seeking action against the pollution of the Periyar caused by illegal discgharge of pollutants through unauthorised drains and the impact of the industrial pollution on the Eloor-Edayar stretch on its overall ecosystem. The study was under way and the reports would be shared with the State government for further action, it said.
Besides the CAMP project, the Wildlife Institute of India has been assigned with the task of conducting a biodiversity study for six rivers – Mahanadi, Godavari, Narmada, Periyar, Cauvery and Barak. The study was also progressing, according to the report.
The Department of Water Resources stated that three pollution abatement projects at a total cost of ₹115.7 crore for rivers Pampa, Chitrapuzha in Ernakulam, and the Periyar had been sanctioned so far.
On the issue of effluents discharged into the Periyar and illegal encroachment of the waterbody, the Department of Water Resources said that the issues raised in the petition before the tribunal were related to industrial toxic effluents and illegal encroachment, which were not under its purview.
The report said that 'water' was a state subject, and it was the primary responsibility of States/Union Territories and local urban bodies to ensure required treatment of sewage and industrial effluents as per the prescribed norms before discharging them into the rivers and other waterbodies.
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Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Hindustan Times
As floods ravage temples, will govt heed to ancient wisdom?
If the planners wish to follow ancient wisdom, then the Ganga and other rivers have decided their territory for them to earmark, and not encroach. Rituals being performed after the Ganga entered the bade hanuman temple in Prayagraj. (HT File Photo) According to the Brihaddharma Purana (Page 322), four days before Janmashtami, the extent of water of the Ganga should be considered as its womb, Nadi Garbha. The river flows at its peak (in general) and defines the river corridor. The two-kos kshetra (about six kilometres) all around the river bank is the floodplain devoid of all sins and no activity should be allowed in this flow path, according to the religious text. Would planners follow their own scriptures to avert disaster in a state headed by a monk chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who is passionately pursuing his dream project of building religious circuits and corridors in Uttar Pradesh. Environmentalists feel the CM, well-versed in scriptures, would understand the need to follow ancient wisdom. While announcing a 30,000-crore master plan for Mathura, CM had said the 'double-engine' government was committed to uninterrupted flow of a clean and pure Yamuna. Significantly, on March 21, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) while hearing a case on the demarcation of flood plain zone of Yamuna falling in Delhi from Wazirabad to Palla (a stretch of 22 km) had ruled: 'The river Yamuna being tributary of Ganga, the floodplain corresponding to its greatest flow or with a flood frequency once in 100 years, is required to be demarcated.' The river's fury spares none Close to the Sangam, the confluence of the Ganga, the Yamuna and mythical Saraswati in Prayagraj, stands the majestic Allahabad Fort, built by Mughal Emperor Akbar in 1583, where one of the oldest temples of Vishnu, Patalpuri, is situated. This underground temple is never submerged by floods. On the other side of the Sangam, there is a famous Hanuman temple. It is perhaps the only temple in the world in which the idol of Hanuman is in a reclining position. The idol is 20 feet long and about 8 to 10 feet below the surface. The idol gets partially submerged every monsoon and is completely inundated during the floods. Legend describes the inundation of the idol as 'the bathing of Hanuman by the holy Ganga'. Hence, devotees consider it as auspicious. They assemble there on the first day the water enters the temple and welcome it with chants. However, when the temple is completely submerged and is inoperative, a smaller idol of Hanuman is placed at a safer place for daily prayers. Perhaps, for this reason, the authorities have never planned any fortification of the temple to protect it from floods, though it was renovated before the Mahakumbh early this year. The environmentalists, however, suggest flood protection measures for the temple and its statue as the rain pattern is changing along with the intensity of the floods. Religious Circuits January 22, 2025 was a special day for chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who led his team of about 50 ministers to the Mahakumbh for a special cabinet meeting in the Mela area. The cabinet took a holy dip at the Sangam and later a beaming chief minister announced several projects, including the development of a religious circuit of seven districts of Eastern UP, comprising Varanasi, Prayagraj, Jaunpur, Chandauli, Gazipur, Mirzapur and Bhadohi; five of them have the Ganga flowing close by. The chief minister said the Mahakumbh had opened five spiritual tourism corridors namely Prayagraj-Mirzapur-Kashi, Prayagraj-Gorakhpur, Prayagraj- Chitrakoot, Prayagraj-Lucknow-Naimisharanya and Prayagraj-Mathura-Vrindavan. The religious city of Chitrakoot is facing a flood-like situation with the Mandakini river damaging several temples on its banks. Similarly, several temples on the banks of Yamuna in Mathura get impacted by floods. The government is also working on the Mathura corridor project on the lines of Kashi Vishwanath corridor. In all, the plan is to develop about 12 spiritual circuits in the state as religious tourism is the latest money-spinner after the Kashi corridor, Ayodhya and Mahakumbh fetched the state millions. What the environmentalists are saying But, is anybody listening to the environmentalists who had raised concern over the pollution of the Ganga-Yamuna after millions arrived at Kumbh and left filth on the banks. The Mela area is beyond recognition today as the Ganga and the Yamuna have inundated a large expanse of the area, submerging the temporary and semi- temporary structures that were raised there for the Mahakumbh. While the officials believe the initiative to develop a religious circuit of seven districts would help in the preservation of temples, rituals, and traditions, ensuring that the region's cultural heritage remained intact amid modernisation, the environmentalists, who have been emphasising on green temples and blue landscapes, have a different take as they worry about the health of rivers and their ecosystem. They quote scriptures to prove their point. 'Indian religious traditions regard all rivers as sacred. The Rig Veda and other ancient Veda collections lavish praise on such holy rivers as the Yamuna, the Saraswati, the Indus, and the Ganges. No ceremony, from birth to death, is seen by Hindus as complete and perfect without Gangajal, or water of the Ganges. A number of annual Hindu religious bathing fairs and festivals are held on the banks of the Ganges, including Somwati Amavasya, Kartik Poornima, Shravan Poornima and Ganga Dussehra,' states the Alliance of Religious Consecration (ARC) and the Bhumi Project in its Guide for Green Hindu Temples. Significantly, major temples in the country have started focusing on following ecological footprints to the extent possible like use of solar energy and ban on plastic in the complex. Shiva Temples Historically, Shiva temples were constructed either on or near the river bank for two reasons – the association of Shiva with the Ganga and the sacredness of rivers. However, thousands of these small and big temples get damaged or are swept away by floods. On August 15, an ancient temple was swept away by the Sharda river. As the river changes its course, some Shivalingas are recovered too. In Shahjahanpur, water has to be pumped out for devotees to offer their prayers in Sunasirnath temple on the banks of Gomti. Venkatesh Dutta, professor of environmental sciences at the Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University in Lucknow, has earned the sobriquet of riverman because of his passionate campaign for treating 'rivers as living beings.' 'There are thousands of Shiva temples on the river banks, and many Shivalingas have been damaged or submerged in floods,' he says. He also says that originally temples were built on river banks and the offerings also came from local vegetation. Dutta appeals for no change in the land use of the floodplains as the rivers decide their own territory. Instead, pillars should be put up to earmark the land of the river and its encroachment should be non-negotiable. No NOCs Thus, while developing religious corridors and circuits, it is important to involve environmentalists as engineers lack both knowledge and sensitivities involved or they are not guided by ecosystems. Often, the practice of taking an NOC from the environment department has become a routine exercise. As Prof Dutta says, ' Saving rivers would save habitats, including ancient temples. Even development of the river fronts such as 'rejuvenation' and short-term planning were detrimental to the health of rivers. That's ancient wisdom !
Time of India
5 days ago
- Time of India
Ludhiana's carcass plant faces uncertain future amid protests, legal hurdles
Ludhiana: Ever since its inception in July 2021, authorities have been making vain attempts to get the carcass disposal plant at Noorpur Bet functional again. However, the plant may soon be one of the futile projects which have earned the dubious title of "white elephants. " Despite its objective of scientific disposal of dead animals, the plant, which was constructed under the Ludhiana Smart City Mission, met with strong resistance from local villagers from day one. Authorities have considered relocating the plant, but chances of finding an alternative site are slim. Officials approached panchayats in 27 villages around Ludhiana—including Bullepur, Rattanheri, Rajewal, Dahru, Khatlia, Laddowal, Allowal, Gill Phallewal, Dhamot Kalan, Lasara Lakhowal, Rara Sahib, Garhi Fazal, Salempur, Garhi Sheru, Haider Nagar, and Pangalian. Everywhere, they encountered strong opposition from locals. Many villages even passed formal resolutions opposing the plant's relocation to their areas. Garhi Fazal and Garhi Sheru were considered promising options, but protests there also derailed the plans. As pressure from the National Green Tribunal (NGT) mounted, the plant was operated briefly for one week last year during the MP elections. Soon after though, villagers resumed their protests, forcing its closure. Former MP Ravneet Singh Bittu joined the agitation and locked the gate of the plant, prompting the MC to file an FIR against him. In a petition, which is pending before the NGT, environmental activist Col J S Gill has challenged the non-functional status of the carcass plant and flagged illegal hada rodi (animal carcass dumping) along the banks of the Satluj River. Gill said that the NGT summoned representatives from the ministry of environment and forests for the past two hearings, but no one had appeared so far. The tribunal has now reiterated its directive for ministry officials to attend the next hearing. Gill believes that only strong political will from the state government can resolve the impasse. "Force may be the only way to make the plant functional now," he said, suggesting that administrative persuasion has failed and legal pressure alone may not suffice. MC commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal confirmed that no final decision had been made about relocation or reactivation of the plant. "The matter is pending at the state government level," he said, indicating that the MC has limited authority to act independently. During the tenure of the Congress government, the plant was built with the intention of enhancing Ludhiana's waste management capabilities. However, the lack of community engagement and failure to address local concerns have turned the project into a symbol of administrative disconnect. As the legal battle continues and villagers remain firm in their opposition, the future of the Noorpur Bet carcass plant hangs in the balance. Without a breakthrough in negotiations or a decisive intervention from the state government, the plant risks becoming a permanent non-starter. Stalled By Protests Carcass plant at Noorpur Bet, built under the Smart City Mission in July 2021, remains non-functional due to persistent villager protests Attempts to relocate the plant failed as 27 villages opposed the move, passing formal resolutions against it The plant was briefly operational for one week during MP elections, but protests resumed, leading to its closure Former MP Ravneet Singh Bittu joined the protest; an FIR was filed against him by the MC NGT petition filed by Col J S Gill highlights illegal carcass dumping and seeks ministry intervention NGT summoned ministry of environment officials twice; they failed to appear MC commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal stated the matter is pending at the state government level The project risks becoming a "white elephant" due to lack of community engagement and administrative resolution Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area. "Get the latest news updates on Times of India, including reviews of the movie Coolie and War 2 ."
Scroll.in
6 days ago
- Scroll.in
Why India's plans to counter China's mega dam in Tibet may falter
The Yarlung Tsangpo river originates in the mountains of western Tibet, and flows eastwards through the Tibet Autonomous Region. It then enters Arunachal Pradesh, where it is known as the Siang. Then, it flows further downstream to Assam, from when it is widely known as the Brahmaputra. This river is currently the site of an intensifying conflict between India and China over the control, ownership and use of its waters. While the threat of competition for this water has always loomed large, it began to take firmer shape in July, when China began construction of a 60-gigawatt hydropower project in Medog, just 30 km north of Arunachal Pradesh. The dam is set to be the world's largest in terms of hydropower capacity – the current largest one, the Three Gorges Dam, also in China, has a capacity of 22.5 gigawatts. These plans have alarmed India. Ministers have described the dam as a 'water bomb' that China can weaponise – either by withholding water to India, or suddenly releasing it in large volumes, which can wreak destruction downstream. In response, India has been pushing forward with plans to build the 11-gigawatt Siang upper multipurpose project in Arunachal Pradesh's Siang district. The dam at Siang could help mitigate some of these probable risks of the Chinese dam, Indian authorities have argued. The government had been considering the project since 2017, when the Niti Ayog proposed it. In February 2022, the Ministry of Jal Shakti formed a technical group to finalise the dam's height. A month later, they recorded their findings in a report, asserting that the Siang Upper dam 'will act as a flood cushion in case of sudden release of flood due to breach in natural and man made storages' in China's proposed dam at Medog. The document noted that the dam would also help regulate glacial floods on the river, and thus minimise losses to local livelihoods. But experts warn that the Indian dam will be of limited use in these respects. Rather than offer any protection from China, India's dam will only serve as a marker of its claims over the river, experts argued. As India sees it, 'if they do not construct a dam on the Brahmaputra, then we will not have water rights over the river', said Sumit Vij, assistant professor at Netherlands-based Wageningen University, who has worked extensively on the Brahmaputra basin. The dam has also raised fears of damage to the local environment and destruction of livelihoods. Thirteen villages in Arunachal Pradesh are to be completely submerged, including agricultural fields where the Adi community grows ginger, cardamom, and paddy. Locals are also concerned that the dam will restrict sediment flow in the river. Communities in the region have been protesting against the project since 2024, noting that the government was pushing it through without adequately consulting them, and by deploying armed forces and police to quell objections. Such conflict is regrettable, particularly since, to achieve the tangible results of the kind the government seeks, 'there has to be a diplomatic solution, a dialogue solution, and not a dam solution', Vij noted. He added, 'If they get into this dam race, India will harm its own environment much more than what is expected to be harmed by China.' Scroll emailed the Ministry of Jal Shakti, seeking responses to questions about the rationale behind the construction of the dam and its planned functions. This story will be updated if it responds. Flood moderation or hydropower generation? The government intends for the Upper Siang dam to perform more than one function. Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu said the dam 'is not just about generating power, but also about maintaining the natural flow of the Siang river and mitigating potential flood risks from water releases by China'. But experts argue that such a goal is unrealistic. If the Siang dam's main function is to mitigate against the risk of floods, they said, other functions, such as hydropower generation, would have to take a back seat. A key reason for this is that since the Siang dam is a hydropower project, water levels of its reservoir would typically be kept high. Soumya Dutta, a visiting senior fellow at Impact and Policy Research Institute who works on energy and climate, noted that 'for creating electricity, dam officials keep the reservoir levels at full capacity to maximise the energy potential'. If China withheld water or released excess water, the Siang dam would allow India to 'moderate these daily cycles of peaks and troughs of water for a few days'. But because it would have a limited buffer capacity, 'beyond that, if there is a heavy rainfall or a sudden release, the dam will not be able to hold it back', Dutta explained. This risk is exacerbated by the geographical limitations the Siang dam will face. Dutta noted that a crucial feature of a dam designed for flood control is a large reservoir. The government is proposing to build a reservoir in Siang – but the geography of the region will only allow for a narrow and deep reservoir, as opposed to the wide ones found in some dams elsewhere in India, like the Nagarjuna Sagar dam, jointly operated by Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to control floods. In such broad reservoirs, flood control can be carried out even by keeping water levels 'just a little low', Dutta said. In deep reservoirs, however, maintaining a buffer capacity to guard against floods would mean necessarily keeping water levels much lower, which would impinge on hydropower generation capacity. Dams that prioritise hydropower generation are, in fact, generally prone to causing flooding when there is a sudden inflow of water into their reservoirs – Dutta noted that many independent experts argued that is what happened in the 2018 floods in Kerala. Indeed, concerns about the construction of the Siang dam do not only revolve around its efficacy – but also about the effects that it might have downstream in Assam, if the dam releases large volumes of water to prevent flooding around it. 'Unfortunately, there is no bioregional understanding of rivers,' in India, said Mirza Zulfiqur Rahman, visiting associate fellow at Delhi-based Institute of Chinese Studies. Such an approach takes into account the fact that 'if you create something upstream of the river basin, it will have an impact downstream, and also vice-versa', he added. More deliberation needed The canyon where the Medog dam will be built is one of the deepest in the world, and plunges to depths of more than 5,000 metres. The river's fall over this canyon generates massive amounts of energy, making it an ideal site for a large hydropower plant. China has spent decades studying the site and drawing up plans for the dam's construction. Experts fear that if India now rushes to catch up with its neighbour, its own dam will not be built in the most optimal way. 'China has spent years studying the geomorphology and understanding the advantage of gradient that it has to build the dam there,' said Rahman. In this regard, India is '15-20 years behind China', Rahman said. At the moment, the government is attempting to conduct a survey, based on which it would draw up a 'pre-feasibility report' of the dam in Siang. This is only one of the first steps of the process, Rahman explained. 'You need to have a long-term research analysis in order to back up your structural interventions,' he said. This work would have helped India understand the area's hydrology more precisely, and identify potential sites for the dam. He further explained that such research could have helped minimise the likelihood of protests among local communities, since information about the project could have been communicated to people on the ground in a timely way. At present, he argued, sufficient hard data about the project has not been shared with local communities, which is leading to increased speculation among them. 'If India would have invested time and money in understanding the river basin in the last 20 years, India could have been in a much better position to design a dam that could perhaps counter the Medog dam,' Rahman said. No treaty India and China both feel a strong need to demonstrate ownership over the river in this region, experts noted, because there is no international law, transboundary institution, or treaty for the Brahmaputra basin that inscribes how its water should be shared. All the four countries that use the basin – China, Bhutan, India, and Bangladesh – have diverse interests, ranging from hydropower generation to flood management and economic development. But so far, discussions between them on cooperating over the river have been limited. In 1997, more than one hundred countries came together to adopt the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses, which sets out a framework for countries that have to share waters. It mandates that signatories have to share hydrological, meteorological, hydrogeological and ecological data with each other, and that conflicts be resolved 'with special regard being given to the requirements of vital human needs'. But other than Bangladesh, none of the other countries in the Brahmaputra basin signed to be party to it. 'That made it very clear that India and China did not want to engage in a multilateral diplomatic negotiation where there could be a third-party mediation,' said Vij. 'It could have allowed for a more just, equal playing field for all actors, but the downside is that it would take longer time to negotiate between the countries.' Instead, India and China signed a memorandum of understanding in 2002 aimed at helping India take steps towards flood control and mitigate the risks of disasters. Under this memorandum, China would provide hydrological information of the river to India in both the flood and non-flood season. This memorandum was renewed in 2008 and 2013 – China temporarily paused it in 2017 after the two countries clashed in Doklam, and renewed it again in 2018. But the memorandum expired in June 2023 and has not been renewed since. In any case, Vij noted that as a mechanism, a memorandum of understanding 'can be a weak institutional mechanism for water-sharing'. Rahman added that while agreements act as 'bricks of confidence building', they are not as strongly backed by international law, and can be withdrawn more easily. In contrast, under international law, treaties are typically far more comprehensive, and carry more weight. Thus, they usually 'lead to cooperation and better understanding between the riparian states', said Vij. Indeed, though India and China signed the memorandum, the process of sharing data has been fraught, Vij wrote in a 2017 paper. Such sharing is typically a means of building trust between countries, but 'in the specific case of the Brahmaputra the lack of a data sharing procedure at the basin level has fostered mistrust between the riparian countries and hindered regional cooperation', he wrote. Further, he noted, 'The power asymmetry between the countries and the broader political context, which currently considers all hydrological data relating to international borders as classified, make the process of sharing data complex.' That has left the two countries in a race to create large infrastructure in the Himalaya, which can be disastrous not just to the topography, but also to local indigenous populations. 'In the way the dam construction is going on, it probably will not have an impact on what the Chinese are doing as much as it will have on their own population, people, nature and ecology,' said Vij.
