After years of deliberations and studies, the government on Wednesday notified minimum environmental flows (e-flow) to be maintained in River Ganga at locations downstream of irrigation projects, hydropower projects and structures that divert the river water for domestic and industrial use. The determination of Ganga's e-flow will apply to the numerous existing, under construction and proposed hydropower projects and irrigation projects in the upper Ganga river basin in Uttarakhand and have consequences on their design and power generation.
Union Minister for Water Resources Nitin Gadkari said during the notification's release that a final call on hydropower dams would be taken soon after taking the final opinion of Uttarakhand government, Environment ministry, Prime Minister's Office and Niti Aayog.
"Projects on which work has not begun should not go ahead. We have carried out studies from our end and will take a final call on the new projects after consulting PMO and taking on board views of Uttarakhand government," Gadkari said.
A river's e-flow is the quantity and timing of water that is essential for the river to perform its ecological functions and also important from the social and cultural standpoint. As part of the Centre's Namami Gange river cleaning project, Aviral Dhara (uninterrupted flow) is one of two important components, along with Nirmal Dhara (Unpolluted flow).
The e-flow of Ganga has been categorised for Upper Ganga River Basin for the stretch between Gaumukh, its origin to the confluence at Devprayag up to Haridwar. During the dry season (November - March) 20% monthly average flow has to be maintained, 25% during the lean season (October-May) and 30% of the monthly flow of high season flow has to be maintained during the monsoon season.
The notification stated that existing hydel projects that do not meet e-flow norms would have to comply within three years and maintain the e-flow while under construction projects, too, would have to make necessary provisions to comply with the order. Mini and micro projects have been exempted.
The government has entrusted Central Water Commission (CWC) with the job of supervising, monitoring and regulating e-flow and would have to submit a flow-cum-monitoring compliance report to National Mission for Clean Ganga each quarter.
Curiously, instead of having an independent data collection system for projects the government has asked project developers to collect data at "appropriate locations" within six months. The project developers would be responsible for installation, calibration and maintenance of flow monitoring facility.
Himanshu Thakkar, coordinator, South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People said that the e-flow parameters were not in line with the government's own assessment done in the past. "This shows that the ministry is non-serious on the issue of Ganga's e-flow. There is no credible monitoring mechanism in place and is not in line with an earlier report that asked for a broader assessment."
DISSENT NOTE
Himanshu Thakkar, coordinator, South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People said the e-flow parameters were not in line with the govt’s own assessment done in the past. “This shows the ministry is non-serious on the issue. There is no credible monitoring mechanism,” he said.
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