The devastation in the Garhwal Himalayas was pretty much on predicted lines and man-made. An environmental assessment of the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda rivers three years ago by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had warned of severe hazards both for natural ecology and stabilization of hill slopes along the riverbed, erosion of which has resulted in hundreds of casualties in the flash floods.
The report -- which was part of a performance audit on hydropower development in Uttarakhand through private participation -- had alerted both the Centre and the state government that mushrooming hydel power projects on the two rivers were causing damage to the hills besides increasing the possibility of flash floods that could result in huge loss of lives. The report said 42 hydropower projects were in operation and 203 were under various stages of construction and sanction, almost one power project every 5-7 km of the rivers.
The report had warned how deforestation due to these projects was damaging the hills. Reforestation was found to be highly deficient: 38% of projects hardly had any plantation. The audit said out of eight projects studied, three had zero achievement with regard to afforestation. In Shrinagar, one of the affected areas, an under construction power project was suppose to plant 1,15,700 trees whereas it planted none. Even projects which reported plantation had no record of their survival rates.
Aquatic life and biodiversity of the river basin was virtually erased at many places, particularly in Shrinagar where the riverbed was completely dry during the lean season and what flowed downstream was the water released by a power plant from its tunnel. Scrutiny of these projects revealed that no specific measures were planned or designed in any project to cope with the risk of flash floods even as project developers had information that such possibilities were always there as "mountains provide large amounts of water from melting snow and glaciers" and that the "bursting of glacial lakes could cause flash floods with catastrophic consequences".
The report warned of impending earthquake in the region which could cause devastation on a much larger scale. If breach was caused in bigger projects such as the one at Tehri, lives and property as far away as Delhi could be at risk, it said. On the erosion of river banks, the report said it was the result of reduction in sediment load in the river caused by these power projects. Gangetic rivers erode the bulk of their sediments upstream and carry the silt downstream to restore the natural flow of the river.
As most of these sediments get trapped in the tunnel of these power projects, this considerably reduces the sediment supply in the river water and "the river will behave as 'hungry waters' scouring sediments from riverbeds and river banks downstream to restore the natural sediment levels of the water", the report said
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/CAG-had-warned-three-years-ago-about-damage-to-hills/articleshow/20674521.cms
Uttarakhand floods: Thousands feared dead, rescue operations intensify
Thursday, 20 June 2013
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