Narmada Dam
| Big hydro schemes have
been coming under a lot of critisism over the last couple
of decades. While they can produce electricity without
CO2 emmisions or other pollutants they are often
detrimental to people living and working in the area, as
well as having serious impacts on both the local
environment and wildlife. While proponents of these hugh
expensive schemes often claim that they provide a better
standard of living for local residents there is no
denying that the reason they are built is to provide
cheap energy and plentiful water for big businesses in
search of ever greater profit. The decade-long struggle against the Sardar Sarovar Dam on India's Narmada River has become a worldwide symbol of opposition of destructive development projects and the adverse impacts of globalisation. The Narmada valley development project will build thirty large dams, 135 medium and 3000 small dams along the river, controlling the waters of the Narmada and its tributes - all at a cost of $11.4 billion. As with many similar schemes, much of the funding comes from the World Bank. The dam and its associated irrigation canals is forcing the eviction of some at least 200,000 people and will deprive many hundreds of thousands more of their means of livelihood. Many of the affected people have refused to move, and there have been protests around the world. Proponents claim that the dam will be the 'life-line' for a huge drought-stricken area and provide electricity and flood control. Opponents say the benefits of the dam are massively exaggerated and the full costs concealed. They believe the water and electricity promised by the backers of the scheme can be provided to Gujarat and other regions using alternative solutions that would be more socially, economically and environmentally sustainable. They also point out that local populations rarely benefit from such schemes and that the state is using the 'emotive power of thirst' to disguise the fact that the scheme is being built for the benefit of industry. To find out more about the Narmada dam development and related issues follow these links: International Rivers Network
See also: General
information about hydro electric power |