[Urbanstudy] "Unravelling Bhakra: Assessing the Temple of Resurgent India": A presentationof a Study by Shripad Dharmadhikari, 8th Aug, Bangalore, INDIA

[ESG India VSNL]

Unravelling Bhakra: Assessing the Temple of Resurgent India
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Presentation of
a study report by Manthan Adhyayana Kendra
by Shripad Dharmadhikary

Responses from
Representatives of Government, farmers' groups, NGOs, academia, and others


Date : 8th August 2005, Monday
Time : 3:15 pm
Venue: Ashirwad, St. Mark's Road Cross (Behind Kabab Corner), Bangalore-1

Organized by
------------
Environment Support Group,
S-3, Rajashree Apartments, 18/57, 1st Main Road, SRK Gardens,
Jayanagar, Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore 560041.
Telefax : 91-80-26341977/26531339/26534364
Fax : 91-80-51179912
Email : esg at bgl.vsnl.net.in or esg at esgindia.org
Website :  <http://www.esgindia.org> http://www.esgindia.org


Meeting Agenda
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1. Welcome and introduction of Shripad and respondents from government,
farmers groups, academia, NGOs, and other individuals

2. Presentation of study findings by Shripad Dharmadhikary 
3. Respondents comment on study findings followed by Shripad's comments 
4. Open discussion

**************************************************************
Copies of the report will be available for sale at the meeting
Pricing: Individuals -- Rs. 150; Organizations -- Rs. 300
**************************************************************

If you are attending, it would be helpful if you could email
subbu at esgindia.org so that we get a sense of the audience.

Subramanya Sastry and Leo Saldanha, 
Environment Support Group.

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Background
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The Bhakra project is a legend in India. Paeans have been composed about it.


Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru described it as a temple of secular and
modern India. Indeed the Bhakra project has become an icon in the
development history of independent India. Investigating the Bhakra project
is not just about the past. 

The Bhakra project is even today used to justify almost all large dam
projects in the country. The Government has used it to justify new large
dams. The Supreme Court has used it to support its judgments. It is being
used to justify the Rivers Linking project. The Bhakra project is used as
the last word in any debate or discussion related to the impacts, benefits
and desirability of water management in the
country.  However, there have been few studies of the precise role played by
the project.

In April 2005, a report titled 'Unravelling Bhakra: Assessing the Temple of
Resurgent India' was released. Shripad Dharmadhikary and his team from
Manthan Adhyayan Kendra, Badwani, Madhya Pradesh prepared this report after
a 3-year study of the Bhakra Dam. This study examines the reality behind
various perceptions related to the Bhakra project and attempts to look at
the broad developmental impacts of the project, in particular its impact and
contribution to food security in the country.

Some of the questions that the study seeks to address are:
* What were the targets in the project plan and what was the actual
performance? 
* What were the unintended or unforeseen impacts - positive and negative? 
* What claims are being made for the project now (as against what was in the
proposal) and what is the ground reality? 
* What is the popular perception of the project benefits and impacts and how
do these compare with the ground reality? 
* Were there other options and alternatives that could have been implemented
in the place of the project and were these considered at the time of the
project planning? 

* Is the experience replicable? Can the project be a model for similar
projects located in a different place and time? 

For a project that occupies so much space in the Indian psyche, seeking
answers to these is of crucial importance. This report is a definite step in
this direction.

According to Ramaswamy Iyer, former Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources: 

"It is a very important study and will have to be taken into account in any
discussion on the Bhakra dam. If the findings of the study are true then the
consequences are major. Other people will have to study the findings of the
report. The study comes to a completely different conclusion from the
popular perception of the Bhakra dam. Even if the study is 50% right, it
would result in a major change in our perception of the Bhakra dam."
(Source: Frontline)

About Shripad Dharmadhikary
---------------------------
Shripad Dharmadhikary completed his graduation in 1985 with a B.Tech degree
from IIT Bombay. He worked for a couple of years with industry, and then for
a year with a research institute studying development policy issues.  He was
a full-time activist of the Narmada Bachao Andolan fro 12 years (1988-2001)
before setting up Manthan Adhyayan Kendra in 2001. Manthan is a centre set
up to research, monitor and analyze water and energy issues. He is the
coordinator of the centre.

About the study team
--------------------
The Bhakra report has been authored by Shripad Dharmadhikary who has also
been the lead researcher and co-ordinator of the study. The research team
consisted of Swathi Sheshadri and Rehmat (both for part of the duration of
the study).

Swathi Sheshadri completed her MSW from TISS, Mumbai in May 1999.  Before
joining Manthan, she worked with various organisations in the fields of
finance and community and mental health. She was with Manthan from its
inception in Oct. 2001 till June 2003. Apart from the Bhakra study, she was
also involved in monitoring water privatization issues, especially GATS.
She is currently working with the National Youth Foundation in Bangalore. 

Rehmat is from a small village Chikhalda, Dhar Dist, Madhya Pradesh, on the
banks of the Narmada. His village, home, and land are affected by
submergence due to the Sardar Sarovar Project. He is a B.Sc graduate and
worked as a full-time activist with the Narmada Bachao Andolan for 12 years.
Subsequently trained in planning, designing, and constructing water
harvesting projects, he worked on such projects in a number of places before
joining Manthan (July-Dec 2003, Jan 2005 onwards). Apart from the Bhakra
study, he is involved with the issues of water privatization and continues
to work on implementation of rural water harvesting projects. 

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