The weekly reservoir level updates of the Central Water Commission (CWC) has shown a drastic depletion of water levels in the Sardar Sarovar Project and Indira Sagar Project on the Narmada river. The prime reason for this could be that more electricity is being generated in view of the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections. This situation has put the people of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat at risk, given the approaching summer and the expected low levels of downpour in the coming monsoon.
Construction work at the Garudeshwar Dam, proposed downstream of the Sardar Sarovar Dam project in Gujarat, continues without any Impact Assessment study, public consultation or without getting the required statutory clearances, informs the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People. It is still a mystery as to why the Environment Ministry or any other concerned authority is refraining from taking action against this illegal project.
A group of 1,750 farmers in Melapalayam village in Tamil Nadu has decided to resort to the NOTA (none of the above) option in the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections. The farmers are unhappy as none of the political parties in the region have addressed the issues of pollution caused by the industrial units. In Kerala also, the Kadar tribal group have boycotted the elections as none of the political parties gave them clarity on the proposed Athirappilly hydel project that is going to take away their entire hamlet.
The Delhi zone of the Indian Railways extracts 14.45 lakh litres of water everyday from tubewells for domestic purposes and for cleaning trains, replies Indian Railways to an RTI query. The Railways has also failed to install rainwater harvesting systems at its stations and colonies in Delhi. It does not even have a policy on rainwater harvesting, which is in violation to the government rules in Delhi.
Under the Kuttanad package, the Kerala Agricultural University has launched a floating research laboratory, with an objective to protect the ecology of Vembanad Lake and explore its marine resources. The floating laboratory is the first of its kind and has been designed as per the classification rules and the Kerala Inland Vessels Act. The laboratory will be equipped with an eco sounder, depth sounder, global positioning system and various other equipments for studying the biodiversity and fish species of the lakes.
This is a weekly roundup of important news from April 13-20 2014. Also read last week's policy matters updates.