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DAM-L LS: NBA: "WCD Report vindicates unjustifiability of large dams" (fwd)
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subject: LS: NBA: "WCD Report vindicates unjustifiability of large dams"
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NARMADA BACHAO ANDOLAN
B-13, Shivam Flats, Ellora Park, Baroda - 390 007
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Press Note 20.11.2000
World Commission on Dams Report vindicates unjustifiability of large dams
The report of the World Commission on Dams is a step forward in the decades
long struggle of the peoples' organizations questioning the social and
environmental impacts and their justifiability on the basis of water and
power delivery services as also economic benefits. It is, however, ironical
that at the same time, people in the Narmada Valley, who have been at the
forefront of the worldwide struggle, challenging not just the dams in the
Narmada Valley but centralised, inequitous ecologically-destructive
consumerist-oriented water and natural resource management as a development
paradigm, Save Narmada Movement (Narmada Bachao Andolan - NBA) is compelled
to fight unjustifiable, majority judgement by the Supreme Court of India
allowing construction of Sardar Sarovar dam at the cost of people,
especially the indigenous populations. The Report exposes the pro large dam
bias in the judgment with a lopsided praise for the dams and beneficial and
unsubstantiated premise that rehabilitation has brought higher standard of
living for the project-affected, the oustees.
The WCD Report has clearly vindicated the issues that peoples' movements
raised and struggled over, during the past half a century. Large dams are
planned, pushed and are justified with no respect for peoples' rights to
resources and development planning, no or little place for social and
environmental impacts assessment in their decision-making.
The Report shows that:
q Large dams have forced 40-80 million people from their homes and
lands, with impacts including extreme economic hardship, community
disintegration, and an increase in mental and physical health problems.
Indigenous, tribal, and peasant communities have been particularly hard
hit. People living downstream of dams have also suffered from increased
disease and the loss of natural resources upon which their livelihoods
depended;
q As against benefits in terms of water and power services, the
price, especially in social and environmental terms, paid by people in too
many cases, is often unacceptable and unnecessary.
q The benefits of large dams, largely gone to the already well-off
while poorer sectors of society have borne the costs, is unjustifiable.
The detailed assessment of economic performance of large dams is no doubt
mixed and yet what is remarkable is that even within the planner s
established framework of economic appraisal (leaving out
social-environmental costs, risk analysis and post-facto evaluation), the
performance on irrigation and drinking water supply is much poorer than the
planned, less than 50% targets being achieved in a majority of cases, large
percentage of dams fail to recover operation and maintenance costs. To
quote from the Report (pg-42), Large irrigation dams in the WCD knowledge
base have typically fallen short of physical targets, failed to recover
their costs, and been less profitable in economic terms than expected.
Also, the WCD knowledge base suggests a marked tendency towards schedule
delays for large dam projects compared with the planned time to
implementation. (pg-42)
The Report especially exposes and questions the flawed processes of
decision-making on large dams which is devoid of granting rights to the
Project Affected, assessing all options and without comprehensive social
and environmental impact assessment. Stressing that options exist, it says
Many of the non-dam options available today including demand-side
management, supply efficiency and new supply options can improve or expand
water and energy services and meet evolving development needs in all
segments of society (pg-xxxi-xxxii). Decentralised, small-scale options
(micro hydro, home-scale solar electric systems, wind and biomass systems)
based on local renewable sources offer an important near-term, and possibly
long-term, potential particularly in rural areas far away from centralised
supply networks (pg-xxxii).
WCD s recommendations in a value-framework with equity, efficiency,
participatory decision-making, sustainability and accountability goes a
long way to a new decision-making process, not for dams but all options in
water and energy sector.
WCD s main contribution thus is to assert the people s right to
decision-making, through Prior Informed Consent in the case of tribal and
indigenous communities and Demonstrable Public Acceptance in the case of
other rural / urban communities to be affected by any water / power
project. Its recommendation on option-assessment before the appropriate
choice of technology, provides an unique space for non-conventional options
which could be more equitable, sustainable and hence development effective.
Mr.Sanjay Suri, the correspondent of India Abroad News Service, one
wonders, had a different report with him, while reporting that the WCD
report boosts the Narmada project. At no point the report, in its 404
pages, say anything alike. The reporting is not only baseless, but an
outcome of ignorance too.
The India Country Study on Large dams in India by five independent
consultants done for the WCD brings out the reality of underestimated
costs, not compensated, millions displaced but not rehabilitated,
environmental impacts not mitigated and economic benefits overestimated
(Please see a press note by South Asian Network on Dams, Rivers and People)
It is, therefore, shocking that the Apex Court of the largest democracy of
the world has given a verdict which completely ignores the over-whelming
evidence of large dams as unsustainable, unjust and destructive projects.
The judgement has been summarily criticised and challenged by a wide
cross-section of eminent people, writers, scientists, senior advocates and
judges.
It is now known to be in violation of right to life, livelihood and other
human rights enshrined in the Indian Constitution as well as the charters,
convention and declarations of United Nations, such as ILO Convention 107,
protecting the tribal communities, most of which are ratified by India. The
judgment ridicules public interest litigation, a weapon in the hands of the
common-people for self-defense and has full praise for big dams with no
grounding into empirical facts and analysis of such projects as brought out
by the World Commission on Dams. The judgement on Sardar Sarovar is
particularly inhumane since the continued construction of the dam upto 90
mts itself will inundate homes and farms of more than 3,500 families,
mostly tribal, in the coming monsoon while depending on the height reached
by next June, the final height being 138 mts, the livelihood and life of
hundreds of thousands, majority of them being socially disadvantaged tribal
(indigenous) people, would be brutally destroyed. The people have no option
but commitment and courage to fight this heinous crime against humanity,
democracy and justice, on behalf of the struggles across the world.
This struggle is clearly towards empowering those who care for nature and
people, and for human justice as against others who are willing to
sacrifice nature and people at the altar of money- and market-based
development. It is much more relevant in the context of
globalisation-liberalisation where deprivation, unemployment, displacement
of organised and unorganised both is on the fast track. It is indeed time
to strengthen the alliances that have been formed in Seattle, Washington DC
and Prague and challenge the interests at both national and international
level. The WCD report may be a tool but not the ultimate weapon. It falls
short of a courageous political analysis of the root causes of
maldevelopment, inequity and injustice as well as the very development
paradigm which justifies the building of large dams.
In the context of this Report, not only the people s movements, who
question the viability of large dams on social, environmental and economic
basis, but also all who are for a sustainable development and harmonious
existence of human and nature, call for a moratorium on large dams; demand
a review of the existing water policy, beyond an open, public debate on the
report; and cry halt of any funding of large dams by any bi-multi lateral
agencies, including World Bank.
The only hope for the future lies in the people asserting their rights and
control over their resources and lives against appropriation by the ruling
elites. It is towards this end that the struggles against large dams and
for self-reliant reconstruction with natural and human resources have to go
on in Narmada and other river valleys.
Medha Patkar
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Whatever Your Law Says......
Narmada Valley is Ours....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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