Paper: GS – III, Subject: Environment, Ecology and Disaster Management, Topic: India’s initiatives, Issue: Dam building in India.
Context:
Both China and India began large dam construction around the 1950s. Today, China has an installed hydropower capacity 10 times higher than India which offers crucial lessons for India.
Key Highlights:
Historical Background:
| China | India |
| Founded in 1949; built its first major dam, Sanmenxia (1960).Early dam projects faced problems like sedimentation.Invited foreign experts in 1980 (e.g., South–North Water Transfer Project).Post-1990: Revived dam-building, becoming world leader in large dam construction. | Independence: 1947; Started building large dams in 1950s.Major Projects: Hirakud (1957), Bhakra (1963).PM Nehru called dams “temples of modern India.”Issues: Some failures like Sannmenxia (China) had parallels in India with sedimentation and operational inefficiency. |
Installed Hydropower Capacity:
| 2000 | 2024 |
| India: 21.8 GWChina: 77.08 GW | India: 42.72 GWChina: 435.95 GW |
Currently, China’s capacity is >10 times that of India.
Challenges in India:
- Water Scarcity & Rainfall Dependence: Highly dependent on monsoon rainfall. For example, Cherrapunji witness’s high rainfall but severe water scarcity. Even in Delhi, 80% annual rainfall occurred in less than 100 hours leading to poor capture and wastage.
- Lack of Long-Term Planning:
- Focus on small, localized solutions instead of integrated water storage systems.
- Failure to link water storage with urbanization, agriculture, and industrial growth.
- Institutional & Legal Delays:
- Environmental and rehabilitation issues stalled construction.
- Judicial and funding barriers. For example, Supreme Court stopped Sardar Sarovar Dam; World Bank/ADB stopped funding.
Way Forward:
- Pragmatic Dam Policy: Assess failures, adopt adaptive engineering and operational strategies.
- Integrated Water Management: Focus on large dams + rainwater harvesting + groundwater recharge + demand management.
- Long-Term Infrastructure Planning: Build multi-purpose dams for flood control, irrigation, hydropower, and urban supply.
- Policy Reforms: Streamline environmental clearance, rehabilitation, and judicial bottlenecks.
Conclusion:
To meet future demands, India must adopt a balanced yet pragmatic dam policy-learning from China’s large-scale, adaptive infrastructure model.
https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/on-dams-take-the-chinese-way-10286315/
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