Bhavnath Temple: Case Analysis

Should the dam be constructed with increased capacity or not?

Initial proposal for the construction of the dam was with the capacity of 4700 cu ft., which was
resulting in displacement of 20 villages, but the Bhavnath temple was safeguarded by appropriate
measures. The new proposal of increasing the reservoir capacity to 5700 cu ft. is leading to the
submergence of the temple and the villagers are against it. So, what should be the Government’s
course of action.

The focus here is to increase the irrigation potential and agricultural production which ultimately
will lead to higher economic development and employment generation. The additional cost
required to increase the potential of the dam is marginal. Also, the Temple is having historic
value thus, people’s sentiments have to be considered to find the right place for temple’s
relocation.

To the given problem, three alternatives can be generated, the first one being: keeping the
original capacity of the dam at 4700 million cu. ft. and hence protecting the temple by water
weir. But this will come at the cost of dam capacity not operating at its maximum potential.
Secondly, increase the reservoir capacity to 5700 million cu ft. and convince the villagers for
relocation of the Bhavnath temple. Though it will be a challenge, but maximizing the dam
potential will lead to higher economic development. The last one is to increase the height of the
temple and increase the capacity of the dam as well. This will demand an increased cost and will
provide protected pathway for pilgrims to reach the temple but the sentiments and beliefs of the
people will remain intact.

If the dam is to be build with original capacity there will be a provision of protecting the temple
by building the water weir. This provision will take into consideration the economic
development as well as the sentiments and beliefs of the people. In this case there is feasibility of
increasing the capacity furthermore and hence increasing the agricultural output as well. This
alternative is leading to underutilization of resources.

The increased capacity of the dam will result in the relocation of the temple and hence, could
create agitation amongst the people as the temple is having historic significance. Increasing the
capacity of the dam bearing marginal costs would give enormous economic benefits.

The height of the temple can be increased in order to support the increased capacity of the dam.
This will keep in consideration, both: the beliefs and sentiments of people and the economic
development.

Giving highest priority to the economic development, we are suggesting to increase the capacity
of the dam and convince the villagers for relocation of the temple near to the planned settlement.
We will work in hand with people who have seen both phases i.e. pre-independence and post-
independence, religious heads, the gram panchayat and various local heads to convince the
villagers regarding the need of economic development and the future prospects of the dam. We
will make people believe that the temple would be created in the place where they are being
relocated. The temple will be made in consultation with the village heads along with all the
religious rites duly observed. There will be employment generation through the dam creation as
well which we will also bring to the notice of the villagers.

If the chosen alternative backfires i.e. the people are not convinced for the relocation of the
temple, then we would plan to increase the height of the temple and also create protected
pathway to the temple as well. This might lead to a higher cost and the risk of temple being
submerged in case of a flood in the area, but the sentiments of the people will be taken care of
along with their economic development.

Group : Avirodh

Himanki Saluja (p40074)

Manvi Singh (p40083)

Masoom Vyas (p40084)

Rahul Saran (p40095)

Rohit Verma (p40096)

Siddharth Harish (p40099)