[Reader-list] BEN on Tipaimukh

[Naeem Mohaiemen]

12 July 2009

Bangladesh Environment  Network

BEN RESOLUTION ON TIPAIMUKH DAM
(draft)

Observations and Analysis

In view of the fact that

1. Tipaimukh Dam is not an isolated project; it is part of a
comprehensive Indian plan of using rivers that flow from India into
Bangladesh, and hence needs to be viewed in the broader context of
sharing of international rivers by these two countries;

2. In general India has been using its upper riparian position and its
economic and financial strength to take unilateral steps with regard
to the flow of these international rivers;

3. Most of these unilateral steps have been of diversionary character,
diverting the water flow to destinations inside India and thus
reducing the flow of water into the rivers of Bangladesh. Glaring
example of such diversionary interventions are the Farakka Barrage on
the Ganges and the Gozaldoba Barrage on the Teesta. The Farakka
diversion has drastically reduced the flow of Padma, drying up
south-western Bangladesh. The Gozaldoba barrage on the other hand has
drastically reduced the flow of Teesta in Bangladesh; India has
undertaken numerous other diversionary and flow-controlling structures
on most of the 54 common rivers flowing from India into Bangladesh.

4. These diversionary projects of India go against the international
norms regarding sharing of international rivers. In particular, they
violate Bangladesh’s right to prior and customary use of river water.
The entire economy and life in Bangladesh have evolved on the basis of
rivers. Any major change in the volume and direction of flow of these
rivers seriously disrupt the economy and livelihood in Bangladesh;
Furthermore, river intervention structures affect the flow of not only
water but also of sediment, which are vital for the long-run
sustainability of the deltaic Bangladesh, in particular in face of the
threat of submergence by rising sea level caused by global warming;

5. There is a pent up emotion among Bangladesh people against India’s
unilateral river intervention projects. They perceive Farakka as
unjust. Similarly, they perceive Gozaldoba and other barrages as
unfair toBangladesh and as proof of India’s hubris. These unilateral
river intervention projects are a thorn in Bangladesh-India bilateral
relationship, which should be not only good neighborly and mutually
beneficial, but also warm and friendly given India’s crucial help in
Bangladesh’s Liberation War;

6. After many years of hiatus, Bangladesh and India signed the Ganges
Water Treaty in 1996 specifying the sharing of the Ganges water at
Farakka. Though Article IX of this Treaty enjoins India not to
undertake unilateral projects intervening rivers shared with
Bangladesh, in practice India has not shown much respect to this
provision of the Treaty. Instead, it has proceeded with many
intervention projects, on a more or less unilateral basis.

7. The Tipaimukh project is one such example of unilateral
intervention aimed at construction of a dam on the Barak river that
flows into Bangladesh from India. India went all the way to floating
international tender inviting bids for construction of the project
without even sharing the DPR (Detailed Project Report) with
Bangladesh. Only in May 2009, when the news of construction of
Tipaimukh dam has generated considerable civic protest in Bangladesh,
the Government of India (GoI) has apparently sent to the Bangladesh
foreign ministry some information about the Tipaimukh project;

8. The Government of Bangladesh (GoB) is yet to make public the
information on Tipai that it has received from India;

9. The GoB has proved to be ineffective in dealing with India with
regard to the Tipaimukh project, as is the case with sharing of rivers
in general. The GoB did not take up the Tipaimukh issue with India in
a serious and timely manner. In particular, the political parties who
are in opposition now did not play their expected role when they were
in power during 2001-2006, when India moved Tipaimukh project from
conception to implementation stage;

10. The current GoB has decided to send a delegation of Bangladesh
Parliament on a fact-finding mission to Tipaimukh project site, and
the Prime Minister has stated that GoB would express its opinion on
the Tipaimukh project after studying the report of that delegation.

11. Unfortunately various Bangladesh ministers are expressing opinions
that contradict Bangladesh’s official position as expressed by the
Prime Minister, and are thus creating confusion;

12. There is the possibility that the Tipaimukh dam with its reservoir
can be helpful in stabilizing the Barak flow across seasons, as has
been pointed out by some water experts and reflected in some of the
ministers’ statements. However there are many reasons why the
suggested across-season flow-stabilization many not hold true and may
not be beneficial for Bangladesh.

First, Bangladesh does not yet have the necessary facts to assess the
changes in Barak flow that the Tipaimukh dam will bring about;

Second, dams can also be a source of destabilization of river flow,
not only in the extreme situation of dam break, but in the often
recurring situation when the excess water needs to be released in
order to protect the dam from overflow. Such unplanned releases lead
to unseasonal floods or floods of unusual depth and extent. For
example, the unusual 2008 floods in Bihar were caused by unexpected
release of water by the dams that India has constructed on the Ganges
tributaries near the border with Nepal;

Third, for Bangladesh to benefit from stabilization of the Barak flow,
it has to have a say or some control over the release of water at the
Tipaimukh dam. This would suggest that Tipaimukh dam should be put
under joint control of India and Bangladesh. As of now, Tipaimukh dam
will be entirely under the Indian control, and the water release
decisions will be made by India alone, putting Bangladesh at the mercy
of the Indians operating the Tipaimukh dam. Such a helpless situation
is not in Bangladesh’s interests;

Fourth, river flow contains not only water, but also sediments, which
are very important for the deltaic Bangladesh. One important impact of
the Tipaimukh dam will be reduced sediment volume of the Barak flow
reaching Bangladesh, with detrimental effects on Bangladesh;

Fifth, Bangladesh has to assess the costs and benefits for her economy
of the seasonal changes in the Barak flow that the Tipaimukh dam will
bring about. For example, current Boro is the main crop for many in
the Surma-Kushiara basin, cultivated in the haors andother low lying
areas that become dry due to low winter flows of the rivers. If now
the winter flows increase due to the Tipaimukh dam, cultivation of
Boro may become impossible in many areas, disrupting the economy and
livelihood. Without detailed studies to determine whether these losses
will be offset by gains in other respects, it is difficult to say
whether the net benefit of the across-season stabilization of the
Barak flow will be positive for Bangladesh;

Sixth, apart from economy there is the issue of ecology to consider.
The flora and fauna of the Surma-Kushiara-Meghna basin have developed
on the basis of a certain river flow seasonal pattern, which is going
to be affected markedly by the Tipaimukh dam. Detailed studies are
necessary to gauge the environmental and ecological impact of the
Tipaimukh dam;

13. The Tipaimukh dam project cannot be separated from the other
project in the offing, in particular the Fulertal barrage project,
meant to divert Barak water for irrigation to the Kachar district of
Assam. As of now, with a price tag of $1.8 billion, the Tipaimukh
project uneconomical, because per unit cost of electricity, even
assuming the advertised production of 1500 MW, will be too high. The
cost irrationality of the Tipaimukh dam can be justified only if it is
viewed jointly with water diversionary projects at Fulertal or some
other point on Barak allowing benefits from irrigation to be counted
against the Tipaimukh costs. However, combined with such diversionary
projects, the Tipaimukh dam is completely unacceptable to Bangladesh.
In such combination, the Tipaimukh-Fulertal duo will be a repetition
of Farakka for Bangladesh, now only on the eastern side her.

14. The worldwide experience shows that large scale interventions in
the volume and direction of river flows do not prove to be that
beneficial in the long run. The hydro power generated often proves to
be meager and costly. The irrigation carried out on the basis of
diverted water often proves wasteful and leads to salinity and
deterioration of the soil quality. Meanwhile, the reservoir submerges
huge amount of land, destroying the ecology and displacing thousands
of (often most vulnerable, indigenous) people, destroying their
culture, causing permanent problems of alienation and insurgency. The
reservoir also becomes a source of methane, undercutting the emission
reducing potentiality of hydro-power generated. The reservoir and the
upstream flow often becomes a cesspool of pollution. The diversionary
projects end up harming not only the basin from which water is
withdrawn but also the basin or area to which water is directed and
transported (at a great
 cost). The experiences of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers are
prominent examples of such negative consequences. Dams also destroy
the natural rhythm of the river flow, obstruct the free movement fish
stock, and obstruct the sediment flow. Finally while many of the
damages prove to the permanent, the dams themselves expire their
lifetime, becoming obsolete due to sedimentation and filling up of the
reservoir, etc. In view of the negative consequences BEN is generally
skeptical about dams, barrages and other large-scale river
intervention projects. BEN is therefore skeptical that the Tipaimukh
dam will be beneficial in the long run in net terms even for India.

15. It is therefore not surprising that many in India are opposed to
the Tipaimukh dam. Protests from local, indigenous people and the
state governments of Manipur and Mizoram did hold up the project for a
long time. It is true that by providing various monetary benefits and
by offering free electricity, etc., the North East Electricity
Production Company (NEEPCO), the current Tipaimukh implementing
agency, has been able to pacify the state governments. However, many
in India, particularly the indigenous people of the area, continue to
oppose Tipaimukh dam project precisely because of the many reasons
cited above;

16. Worldwide there is now disenchantment with the Commercial Approach
to river that suggested that any flow of river water to the sea is a
waste, so that all of it should be used up. The approach led to
degradation of rivers and increased conflict and animosity among
countries of the river basin. In view of the experience there is now a
move towards the Ecological Approach that recommends preservation of
the natural volume and direction of river flow and helps to foster
friendly neighborly relationship among the countries of the river
basin. Instead of being a source of discord, as is the case under the
Commercial Approach, rivers under the Ecological Apporach become a
bond of friendship and good neighborliness.

17. World wide there is also move away from the unilateral approach
toward multilateral, basin wide approach that includes all countries
of a river basin in decision making regarding the use of the river.

Recommendations and Demands

In view of the above, BEN

1. Demands that India halts proceeding with the Tipaimukh project any
further and engages in serious, sincere discussion with Bangladesh
about the fate of this and all other projects of intervention in the
shared international rivers;
2. Demands that India agrees to abandon its current unilateral
approach and adopts a multilateral, basin-wide integrated water
resources management approach to rivers of the region;
3. Demands that India agrees to adopt the multilateral approach with
regard to the Tipaimukh dam project;
4. Demands that India should under no circumstances undertake water
diversionary project (such as at Fulertal or at other points) on the
Barak river;
5. Demands that India should under no circumstance undertake water
diversionary projects on rivers shared by Bangladesh either directly
or through tributaries and distributaries;
6. Urges Bangladesh, India, and all countries of the sub-continent to
abandon the current Commercial Approach to rivers and to adopt the
Ecological Approach;
7. Demands that GoB immediately makes public the information that it
has received on the Tipaimukh dam project from India so all interested
parties and scholars can conduct necessary analysis on the basis of
the information;
8. Urges that GoB sponsors independent research by Bangladeshi experts
on the possible impact of the Tipaimukh dam on Bangladesh economy and
ecology;
9. Urges all political parties of Bangladesh to adopt a non-partisan
approach to the Tipaimukh issue (and issues of water sharing with
India in general) and cooperate to develop a united national position
with regard to Tipaimukh and to dealing with India on this issue;
10. Urges all parties to lend cooperation to the government, to the
extent that it sincerely tries to find a solution with India regarding
Tipaimukh, defending Bangladesh’s national interests and legitimate
rights;
11. Urges all political parties represented in the Parliament to join
the proposed all-party delegation of Bangladesh Parliament to visit
Tipaimukh dam site to find out the facts and prepare a report on the
basis of the findings;
12. Urges all citizens of Bangladesh to build a strong civic movement
to save the rivers of the country;
13. Urges formation of a region-wide (including India, Bangladesh,
Nepal, China, and Bhutan) civic movement for protection of rivers and
for promotion of the Ecological Approach to rivers in place of the
Commercial Approach to rivers.
14. Urges all concerned in Bangladesh, including political parties,
civil society organizations, NGOs, think tanks, media, mass
organizations, local peoples’ organizations, non-resident
Bangladeshis, etc. to come together, leaving aside narrow partisan and
sectarian interests, and develop and rally behind a united national
position regarding Tipaimukh dam and other river sharing issues.
Bangladesh needs national unity in order to defend its rivers.