Anti Tehri Dam Movement

Anti Tehri Dam Movement :

Intoduction :

The Tehri Dam is the Highest dam in India and one of the highest in the world. It is a multi-purpose rock and earth-fill embankment dam on the Bhagirathi River near Tehri in Uttarakhand, India. It is the primary dam of the THDC India Ltd. and the Tehri hydroelectric complex. Phase 1 was completed in 2006, the Tehri Dam withholds a reservoir for irrigation, municipal water supply and the generation of 1,000 megawatts (1,300,000 hp) of hydroelectricity. The dam's 1,000  MW  variable-speed pumped-storage scheme is currently under construction with expected commissioning in May 2018.

The Tehri Dam has been the object of protests by environmental organizations and local people of the region. Environmental activist Sunderlal Bahuguna led the Anti-Tehri Dam movement for years, from 1980s till 2004.The protest was against the displacement of town inhabitants and environmental consequence of the weak ecosystem.

The Tehri Dam is constructed over the Bhagirathi River, the main tributary of the Ganges in the hills of Uttarakhand, India.  Tehri Hydro Development Coorporation (THDC) was formed in 1988 to manage the dam.

This dam has been the object of intense protests from environmental groups and the people of Tehri and surrounding areas. There have been legal battles over the relocation of more than 1 lakh people. Also, environmental concerns have been raised, as the dam is planned in the Central Himalayan Seismic Gap, a major geologic fault zone (this region was the site of a major earthquake in October 1991). Sunderlal Bahuguna is one of the leaders opposed to this project. However, the project has received court clearance despite protests. 

Development of the Anti Tehri Dam Movement :

 The First Phase: Birth of the Movement (1970s):

The ATDM began formally in 1978.The Tehri Dam Opposing Struggle Committee  was established at the dam location point, Tehri, on January 24, 1978, immediately after the dam construction began. V. D. Saklani, a freedom fighter of the Indian independence movement, was chosen as the chairperson, since he did not belong to any political party. A demonstration meeting was held at Tehri on April 10, and the construction work was suspended on April 24 due to interference by the participants of the movement. The first arrestee appeared on June 1, and the number of people arrested increased to 97 (of which 63 were women) by June 17. On August 14, a petition requesting a review of the dam construction plan was submitted by the committee to the Lok Sabha with signatures of 8,000 people. The committee repeatedly organised demonstrations, sit-ins (dharna), fasts (vrat) and demonstrations on foot (pad yatra) and also conducted legal battles.11 Many women, children and students were amongst the participants from the beginning, and all the main political parties in the locality also actively took part in the movement. In February 1980, an environmental appraisal committee chaired by S. K. Roy was set up by the order of the Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi.

The Second Phase :  

Expansion of the Movement During the 1980s, the ATDM came to acquire features of a civil movement as the participants of the movement diversified beyond the boundary of the locality .This involved the following three aspects. First, the movement attempted to include the residents of the downstream region, who had been conceived as the main beneficiaries ofthe dam , into the movement by emphasising the risk of flood if the dam collapse. Second, many opinion leaders such as journalists and specialists of diverse fields from various parts of India became involved in the movement.Third, the ATDM began to unite with other anti dam protests, such as the Anti Narmada Dam Movement. The solidarity with the Anti Narmada Dam Movement became an important factor in the acquisition of a new framework for the ATDM, namely the "Save Himalaya Movement" in 1992.

The ATDM, together with the Anti Narmada Dam Movement, served as accelerators for this tide of "anti dam" tendencies, and merged with the worldwide "anti dam" tide.

The Third Phase :

Rise of the Movement (1991-92) and the "Gandhian Network" A large-scale earthquake  occurred in northwest Uttarakhand on October 20, 1991 causing massive damages. After this earthquake, the claim (which the movement used to insist upon) that the Tehri dam in the earthquake-prone zone was not guaranteed to withstand a large earthquake, was vigorously picked up by the media, and the ATDM showed an unprecedented upsurge. Criticism against the dam heated up at the local level as well, due to the inappropriate compensation for the evictees, the suspicions of corruption in and corner-cutting construction by the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation, and the prospect of shortage of funds after the collapse of the Soviet Union which had been the main contributor to the project.

The enthusiasm for the movement did not cool down, even after the arrest of Sunderlal Bahuguna and others on midnight of February 27, 1992. Bahuguna started a fast (vrat) in jail on the same day. After his release ten days later, Bahuguna and others pitched a tent again beside the truck road, which led to the dam site where Bahuguna continued his fast. His fast became the centre of public attention as articles were written about it.

On March 20, 1992, an "accident" occurred, which led to a serious damage for the ATDM. The bus which transported villagers who were on their way back home after participating in a demonstration held at Tehri on that day fell from a cliff, and more than 16 persons were killed. The driver of the bus, who was not a regular employee, escaped from the bus just before the fall . People repeatedly requested the authorities to conduct a detailed investigation into the "accident", but the truth of the matter was never revealed. This tragic incident is still regarded, among the local people, as a conspiracy by a group in favour of the dam construction. People perceived the gravity of "risks" involved in participating in the ATDM demonstrations from this incident , and a considerable number of people left the movement.

The Fourth Phase :

Declaration of the "Save Himalaya Movement" (1992) On May 15, 1992, the third and last day of the demonstration meeting at Tehri, the declaration of the "Save Himalaya Movement ( himalaya bachao andolan )" was proclaimed. The substance of the declaration was condensed in the following slogan: "Pull up water (dhar ainic pani)! Trees on the hill slope (dhal par Ala)! Generate electricity from the flow of rivers (bijli bandwd khaki khala) !" It had the following visions : (a) The project should be converted into the " Run of River Schemes " ,the environmental- friendly small scale project alternative to the large dam for the generation of power by using the flow of rivers; (b) the planting of trees on the denuded slopes of the Himalayas, which had been suffering long term deforestation, must be promoted; and (c) most importantly, promotion of tree cropping (agro-forestry) has to be done.

The Fifth Phase :

 Present Situation of the Movement and the "Brand Function of Gandhism" After 1992, Sunderlal Bahuguna's fasts, with the help of the power of the media, functioned as a major force pressurising the politicians at the national level, as the politicians could not refuse the renowned Gandhian's claims, and the movement regained intensity yet again. In December 1994, as the construction work of the dam resumed, Bahuguna and others walled off the road to the dam site again. They were arrested and imprisoned in May 1995, and Bahuguna started an indefinite fast. Many participants of the movement were injured by the severe kith/ charge of the police personnel at Tehri. Bahuguna continued his fast even after his release from jail, and the movement intensified. This time, the workers of the dam construction who had been gathered from various parts of India also participated. On the morning of June 9, at  the camp of the sit-in was suddenly surrounded by 200 police officers. Bahuguna was caught.The government of Uttar Pradesh justified this by saying that Bahuguna had to be transported because his health condition might have been critical. However, the doctor could not find any problem with his body, so he was allowed to return to Tehri, and he continued fasting. Bahuguna broke his fast on the 49th day on June 27, as the Prime Minister Narasimha Rao announced a statement concerning the total review of the Tehri project.

However, in the 2000s, the movement seemed to become sluggish. From 2000 to 2001, the administrative function of Tehri was transferred to New Tehri, and many residents left the town .In September 2003, the Supreme Court ordered that the Tehri dam was legal, and the movement lost almost all the legal battles against the construction of the Tehri dam. All diversion tunnels were closed in November 2005, and the surrounding areas of Tehri were completely submerged under water. However, it would be hasty to assert that there is no possibility of reviving the movement, since almost all the main participants have not yet adjusted to their new living environments.

While the Anti Tehri Dam Movement began in the late 1970s as a local resistance movement against the dam, it evolved into a civil movement in the 1980s as the participants of the movement diversified beyond the boundary of the locality. In the early 1990s, the movement experienced a great upsurge with the help of the "Gandhian network" in India. In 1992, after the declaration of the "Save Himalaya Movement", it became an environmental movement, and started proposing comprehensive alternative environmental policies for the region.