Tipaimukh Dam: Some Myths, Some Facts
- Medha
Bisht
Some
issues are eternal in politics. They lie dormant for a while, and then get
activated when an appropriate trigger is in place. This pattern can be
repeatedly seen in the public controversies surrounding the Tipaimukh
hydroelectric dam, which is an issue embedded within conflictual perceptions
both bilaterally and domestically between/within India and Bangladesh.
While
allegations on the lack of appropriate communication from India (regarding the
dam’s construction) is often raised in Bangladesh, it is on record that a
barrage on the Barak river was discussed by both countries at the very first
meeting of the Joint Rivers Commission held in New Delhi on 25-26 June 1972. At
that time, the “construction of a storage reservoir on Barak river” was
envisaged to manage peak floods. The broader context for this decision was the
flood situation in Eastern India, and as a response, both countries decided to
undertake a joint study to assess the flood situation in Sylhet area in
Bangladesh and Cachar and other adjoining areas in India. Significantly, the
maiden understanding between India and Bangladesh was thus on flood prevention
and management.
The
Tipaimukh dam entered the lexicon of the Joint Rivers Commission more
categorically in 1978, when it was decided that “the concerned Superintending
Engineers of the two countries should jointly examine the scope of the Indian
scheme of storage dam on Barak river at Tipaimukh.” It further added that the
“potential flood control and other benefits (particularly power) to Bangladesh
should be studied expeditiously.” But in the following two decades, Teesta and
Ganges and Tipaimukh took a back seat. Indeed, as Rao Birender Singh, India’s
former Agriculture, Rural Reconstruction and Irrigation Minister, pointed out
in a Review Meeting of the Ganges Waters Agreement held at New Delhi on January
7, 1981, “the unfortunate part, however, has been that Bangladesh has not come
forward to study the data on scientific and rational basis to discuss the
scheme and then come to its conclusions.” This statement revealed that India
had carried out detailed explorations and investigations on the Tipaimukh dam.
After
an interregnum of almost 25 years, Tipaimukh once again reared its head in 2005
at the Joint Rivers Commission. In the interim a lot had
changed—internationally and domestically. For instance, a very peculiar
development was the global movement against dams, which highlighted the social
and environmental costs of multi-purpose projects. These concerns were fully
articulated in a report released by the World Commission on Dams in 2000,
which, in addition to highlighting social and environmental issues, also
emphasised upon people’s participation in decisions related to dam building
activities. Such concerns were later raised in the case of the Tipaimukh dam as
well. For instance, a paper on the Tipaimukh Dam was presented to the Dams and
Development Project (DDP)1 in 2005 by Zakir Kibria, Executive director of
the NGO BanglaPraxis, titled “Gaining Public Acceptance (GPA) for Large Dams on
International Rivers: The Case of Tipaimukh Dam in India and Concerns in Lower
Riparian Bangladesh.” While Kibria’s primary argument was the importance of
“gaining public acceptability” for Tipaimukh, he also flagged additional issues
like hydrological impact, impact on flooding pattern and the river
floodplain-wetland ecosystem, impact on morphology, impact on water quality,
dam break, etc.
In
the light of broader ecological, hydrological and social costs of large dams
gaining prominence and being increasingly highlighted by various institutes,
academics, affected peoples’ groups and civil society at large, when India
proposed the construction of the Tipaimukh dam at the Joint Rivers Commission
meeting held in Dhaka in 2005, Bangladesh expressed categorical concerns on the
adverse downstream impact of the dam. Since then, the issue of Tipaimukh has
been surrounded by controversies leading to an implementation-lag, and
consensus-deficit at various levels. If one were to make sense of the
controversies, two parallel strands emerge. The first is the official version
shared between the UPA government in India and the Awami League in Bangladesh,
and the second relates to the broader concerns raised by the civil society
questioning the dam on environmental, technical and social grounds. The two
discourses can be categorised within the following broad themes:
Nature
of the Project: While the Indian official position
emphasises that the Tipaimukh dam would be a “hydro-electric project with
provision to control floods”, it explicitly states that the project would not
involve “diversion of water on account of irrigation.” Gowher Rizvi, Foreign
Affairs Advisor to the Sheikh Hasina-led government, has accepted this position
and equated it to a “run of the river project, where the water stored in the
dam or the reservoir has to be discharged continuously to enable generation of
electricity”. Meanwhile, the civil society in Bangladesh has questioned the
nature of the dam in restricting water availability to the Kushiara and Surma
rivers as well as the capacity of the dam to generate 1500 MW.
Information
Communication and Knowledge Sharing: There has been a lot of hyperbole
by the civil society on the lack of transparent communication and sharing of
knowledge between the two countries. However, records reveal that at the
official level both countries have shown consistent interest in solving the
issue bilaterally. For instance, in 2009, a 10-member Bangladesh parliamentary
delegation led by Abdur Razzak visited India to survey the proposed dam site
and found no diversionary structure. Similarly, after the signing of the
Promoter’s Agreement between the Government of Manipur, NHPC Ltd. and Sutlej
Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd (SJVN) on 22 October 2011, Mashiur Rahman and Gowher
Rizvi, advisors to Sheikh Hasina, paid a visit to New Delhi, to discuss their
concerns. In the wake of this two day visit in early December 2011, Gowher
Rizvi wrote an editorial page article in the Daily Star (13 December 2011), in
which he clearly reiterated the need for a rational and scientific discussion
on Tipaimukh.
Benefits
and Impact of the Project: While India has been emphasising
upon the hydro-electric and flood prevention benefits of the project,
Bangladesh has been concerned about the impact of such activity on the river
regime, capacity of the dam to control floods, impact on hydrology,
particularly the water drainage on crop lands, etc. India has sought to allay
these concerns by pointing out that the impact of the dam would be felt inside
Indian territory as well, given that some land and National Highway No. 53 in
Manipur will be partially submerged. India has also invited Bangladesh to
become a partner in the project, which would also facilitate the sharing of
power to be generated.
These
are only some of the concerns expressed by the Bangladesh government and civil
society groups. Moreover, there are domestic issues within India and Bangladesh
which need to be addressed by both the governments. At present, the issue of
Tipaimukh seems to be clouded by technicalities associated with the project.
Given this perceptual divide, a joint technical survey becomes mandatory in
order to allay people’s apprehensions about the ecological impact of the
project. This issue is under deliberation and could be incorporated into the
agenda of the Joint Rivers Commission.
In
fact, a list of 10 Bangladeshi experts to conduct a joint study has already
been sent by Dhaka to New Delhi. According to the Daily Star, these experts are
primarily government officials drawn from the ministries of water resources and
foreign affairs, the Water Development Board, the Centre for Environment and
Geographical Information Services and the Institute of Water Modelling. This is
a welcome gesture and should be taken forward without any interruption.
Tipaimukh
has become a prominent issue in India-Bangladesh bilateral relations and has a
huge potential to be exploited by vested interests. In order to obviate myopic
policies, which could jeopardise the bonhomie in India-Bangladesh relations,
the technical underpinnings of the project need to be jointly undertaken by
both countries. Joint studies and particularly the institutional framework
offered by the Joint Rivers Commission offer an excellent opportunity for
resolving misperceptions and bridging differences. Significantly, the Joint
Technical Survey, which is in the offing, is perhaps the first step and an
appropriate way to move forward.
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1.
Dams and Development Project was
formed under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme, on the
request of the World Commission on Dams (WCD) to contextualise the
recommendations of the WCD at the local level, thus facilitating
multi-stakeholder dialogue and disseminating WCD findings
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