TEHRI DAM

Presentation Flow
Why Dams??
Introduction : Tehri Dam
History
Project Details
Benefits
Issues and Protests
Major Concerns
Conclusion

WHY DAMS?

Hydro-power is a clean, renewable, low-cost

alternative.

Flexible and reliable and more efficient than

any other form of electricity generation
ANDSupports various kinds of aesthetic and
recreational activities.

Other benefits : manage floodwater, irrigate

fields, and provide water supply.

Tehri Dam

Initially taken up by the Irrigation

Department of the Uttar Pradesh
government.

In 1988, was taken over by a joint

venture company of the Government of
India and the Uttar Pradesh
government, called the Tehri Hydro
Development Corporation(THDC)

TEHRI DAM : INTRODUCTION

Location

Height

Capacity

On the Bhagirathi River

200 miles north east of Delhi
855 feet (261 m)
5th tallest dam in the world

Power
Power generation
generation capacity
capacity of
of 2400
2400 MW
MW
Provision
Provision of
of irrigation
irrigation to
to an
an area
area of
of 270,000
270,000 hectares
hectares
Supply
Supply of
of 270
270 million
million gallons
gallons of
of drinking
drinking water
water

History
1949 Tehri dam conceived

1961 Tehri chosen as a tentative site for the

dam
1972 Planning Commission gives its nod to
the dam
1978
under

Actual construction of the dam begins

police protection

1980 EAC appointed by the government,

refuses environmental clearance
1986 Revival of the Project The then USSR
offered administrative, technical and
financial help
1987 GoI announced in the media that
the project has been cleared
1988 Project transferred to THDC from
Irrigation Department of UP
1990
1990 Feb
Feb :EAC
:EAC rejects
rejects the
the dam
dam again
again
July
July :Conditional
:Conditional clearance
clearance by
by MOEF.
MOEF.

FACTS

First multipurpose river valley project

on Bhagirathi, the main tributary of the
Ganga.

260.5m high earth and rockfill dam,

spillway structures and an underground
power house.

Four diversion tunnels

BEnefits

2400 MW
of
environme
nt friendly
Peaking
Power

Irrigation of
2.7 lakh ha.
of new area

162 million
Gallons per
day of
water
supply to
Delhi

All round
developme
nt of the
region
through
better
infrastructu
re and easy
availability
of
electricity.

Developme
nt of
pisciculture

Benefits To Affected Population:

Development of Hill Station
Better Road Network
Education
Health
Electrification
Drinking Water Facilities
Setting of New Industries
Tourism
Commercial Centre

NEGATIVE IMPACTS

Change in the (i) water chemistry, especially

with respect to dissolved oxygen and (ii)
turbidity of water.

Impact on biodiversity, i.e., flora and fauna of

the area.

Obstruction of movements of migrating fish

species during breeding season.
Reduction in the capacity and life of reservoir
was studied

ISSUES RELATED

Human
Rights

Environmen
tal

Forced
displacement
of 67-97,000
people
Diverting
water from
poor
communities

Catastrophic
flood danger
Multiple
environment
al reviews
recommendi
ng
cancellation

Corruption
Six
corruption
cases
CBI inquiry
but no
results

PROTESTS

1978 - Tehri Bandh Virodhi Sangharsh

Samiti (TBVSS)

74-day hunger strike in 1996 by

Sunderlal Bahuguna

Many Anti-dam rallies and protest

Protester with anti-Tehri

Dam slogans

Work
stopped

OBSOLATE DAM DESIGN

The design of the dam was finalized in the

1960s when scientific understanding of
seismic hazards and seismic engineering
solutions were far less advanced than today

SEISMIC REPORTS
Location : world's most earthquakeprone regions with several fault lines
traversing the project area.
Not adequately equipped to withstand
earthquakes of the magnitude
expected during its life span
Designed for 7.2 ; expected : 8.5 or
more

FLOODS

If the dam fails or a major landslide causes a

huge wave to overtop the reservoir, a 260meter high flood wave would crash down into
the densely populated valleys below the
dam, burying the towns of Rishikesh,
Hardwar, Bijnor, Meerut, Hapur and
Bulandshahar within hours and devastating
large areas of the Gangetic Plains.

Estimate : 10 million people

FORCED RESETTLEMENT

Around 1 lakh affected

directly or indirectly.
No resettlement plan :
some given
compensation , some
house , others nothing
rehabilitation appalling,
even though a sum of Rs
1117.15 lakhs is
reported to have been
spent

FINANCIAL ISSUES

A cost-benefit analysis by the Indian National

Trust for Art and Culture Heritage (INTACH)
came to the conclusion that the costs of the
US$2 billion project will be at least twice as
high as the expected benefits.

Tehri is an enormous squandering of public

money.

NEW TEHRI

NEW TEHRI
Situated

at an elevation
between 1550 to 1950 mts.

modern and well planned

town

Important

centre of attraction

TEHRI IN
PICTURES

Just Before the construction

Tehri Dam Lake

Bridge Across
Tehri Dam

Muddy waters from

Tehri Dam construction

Top View

CONCLUSION

This is a dam built with our tears

PRESENTED BY:

SIDHARTH
ARABIND
AMIT
ADITYA .K
JITHIN.J
SARAL
KARTHIKA
ROSHINI

THANK YOU ALL!!!!!!!!