Proposed hydropower project to counter ‘China threat’

(MainsGS3:Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment & Security challenges and their management in border areas)

Context:

• According to reports, a ‘pre-feasibility report’ on the 11,000 MW project in arunachal pradesh, or more than five times the size of the largest such projects in India – has been submitted to the Central Electricity Authority for appraisal in December by the National Hydropower Corporation (NHPC) recently.

Deterrent to China:

• The design of a proposed hydropower project in Arunachal Pradesh’s Upper Siang district is influenced by concerns over China’s proposed 60,000 MW hydropower in Medog, Tibet.
• As the 60,000 MW dam in Medog could reduce the natural flow of water from the Brahmaputra, away from India during lean patches, or worse be used to trigger “artificial floods” is a matter of “concern to India.
•  Thus experts believe that the design of the proposed project incorporates a “buffer storage” of 9 billion cubic metres (or about 9 billion tonnes of water) during monsoonal flow.
• This could act as a store of water worth a year’s flow that would normally be available from the Brahmaputra or buffer against sudden releases.

Manage flooding:

• The Brahmaputra, known as Yarlung Tsangpo in China, is a 2,880 km long transborder river that originates in the Mansarovar lake and flows 1,700 km within Tibet, 920 km in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam and 260 km in Bangladesh. 
• It accounts for nearly 30% of freshwater resources and 40% of India’s hydropower potential and diverting its flow could mean agricultural impacts downstream in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
• As the project is primarily meant to manage flooding in the Brahmaputra, however, we cannot ignore strategic aspects and this is one way to counter any potential threats.

Transparently share information:

• Many experts said that India’s hydropower projects, while potentially beneficial in controlling flooding from the Brahmaputra in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, wouldn’t necessarily serve as a strategic deterrent to China.
• China has always maintained that the entire stretch of the Yarlung Tsangpo are run-of-the-river projects [minimal storage] and is unlikely to risk international condemnation via water wars. 
• A large dam in India may help control floods within India but might open fresh disputes over water sharing with Bangladesh downstream. 
• Thus, it would be more beneficial if all three countries agreed to be more transparent and share information on the seasonal flow of water.

Conclusion:

• Arunachal Pradesh has long been considered a State with rich potential for large hydropower projects but local agitations, primarily because of the threat posed to farmland, displacement and environmental concerns have seen many projects shelved.
• Thus a holistic mechanism should be developed to ensure national security, managing floods as well as ensuring minimal ecological disturbances while taking care of people affected by such projects.