Row over Gujarat floods as Opposition blames govt for Dam mismanagement
The Opposition alleged that alleged that the flooding was ‘man-made’ and resulted from the gross negligence of authorities responsible for managing the Sardar Sarovar Project
In the wake of the recent floods in Bharuch, Vadodara and Narmada districts in Gujarat, a political showdown has unfolded, with opposition Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) stepping up their attacks on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state.
On Thursday, the Congress alleged that the flooding was “man-made” and resulted from the gross negligence of authorities responsible for managing the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP). The state government said that the operation of the Sardar Sarovar Dam was necessitated by unforeseen circumstances, including heavy rainfall and flash floods, despite no significant forecast.
SSP is an inter-state project with a terminal dam on the Narmada River at Kevadia in Gujarat. A multi-purpose project with irrigation, power and drinking water benefits, it is meant to benefit Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Gujarat.
Addressing a press conference in Ahmedabad on Thursday, Jaynarayan Vyas, a former BJP minister who joined the Congress in November last year, said the purpose of the SSP authorities is to regulate floodwaters, and it has a mechanism to release water based on real-time data. However, the system relies on accurate data, and there seems to be a disconnect between the Narmada Control Authority and the Gujarat government, he added.
The NCA was established as per the conclusive orders and decisions of the Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal (NWDT) to serve as the organisation responsible for executing its directives and rulings. This authority commenced its operations on December 20, 1980. It operates as a corporate entity and includes representatives from the four states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan, as well as representatives from the Government of India.
Heavy rainfall in Madhya Pradesh starting on September 6 raised water levels in the Sardar Sarovar Dam’s reservoir. This led to the need to open many dam gates due to continuous upstream rain, a process that began between September 14 and September 15, causing a challenging situation downstream for engineers and revenue officials from September 7 to 14, said Vyas.
“The delay in response is due to unforeseen circumstances, highlighting government oversight issues. Concerns have been raised about the flooding being a human-made disaster, with questions raised about the reasons behind the Gujarat government’ actions. I would like to ask why flood reports weren’t publicised and why the related website was shut down after September 6. Critical information on water release is available on the NCA’s website but the same hasn’t been uploaded on the website of revenue, irrigation departments, or the Gandhinagar Flood Control Centre. Even NCA has stopped uploading the daily report on its website from September 6 due to some unknown reason,” said Vyas.
Sagar Rabari, the general secretary of Gujarat’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), also raised concerns about the state government’s decision to significantly decrease water releases from the Sardar Sarovar dam during the initial week of September. He pointed out that this reduction in water supply occurred at a time when farmers were increasingly in need of water resources.
Describing the situation as a man-made disaster, Rabari raised questions about the government’s inaction during the crucial 36-hour period when they were well aware of heavy rainfall in the highlands and the ongoing release of water from Omkareshwar Dam.
“We are only being informed about the substantial rainfall, but we are not provided with specific details such as the amount of rainfall in the Narmada catchment area,” he said.
The NCA data of September 6 shows 133.98 metres as the water level (at Sardar Sarovar Dam) with 4,295 million cubic metres of water stored, making the reservoir 75 per cent full.
Rabari’s reaction comes in the wake of the flooding of several low-lying areas in the Bharuch district following heavy rain in the state and allegedly due to the sudden release of water from the Sardar Sarovar dam. As of Monday, 12,000 people from eight districts were evacuated to safety.
An official at Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd (SSNNL), which is implementing the SSP project, said: “Gujarat had not received any significant rainfall in August 2023 and its share in Narmada Basin was just 7.72 million acres feet (MAF) in first week of September against 9 MAF in a normal monsoon year. The water level of SSP on September 4 should be 136.64 m as per Reservoir Operation Table finalised by Sardar Sarovar Reservoir Regulation Committee (SSRRC) meeting held on August 1, 2023. Actual level on SSP on September 4, 2023 was 133.73 m and in the contravention of SSRRC decision, the River Bed Power House at SSP was running and water was going to sea. To protect the standing crops and need for drinking and irrigation water of next 10 months in Gujarat, the priority is to save every drop of water rather than production of electricity, so the power plant was closed on September 6.”
Rainfall data recorded from September 5 to 14 at rain gauge stations upstream of the SSP showed consistently low to very low rainfall. However, on September 15, the catchment area of SSP experienced moderate rainfall, followed by extremely heavy rainfall on September 16 and 17, according to SSNNL officials. During this period, the upstream major dam, Indira Sagar Project (ISP), reached full capacity and commenced releasing all its water downstream towards the Sardar Sarovar Dam.
Furthermore, a sudden “cloud burst” occurred between ISP and SSP, resulting in a “flash flood” within the SSP region, according to SSNNL. The maximum inflow recorded at SSP was 21.75 lakh cusecs at 23:00 hrs on September 16, 2023, despite no significant forecasts by the Central Water Commission (CWC), it said.
SSP initiated water releases downstream at 10am on September 16, 2023, starting with 45,000 cusecs, which gradually increased to 1 lakh cusecs at 12 noon, 5 lakh cusecs at 2pm, 8 lakh cusecs at 5pm, and finally, reached 18 lakh cusecs in the early morning of September 17, 2023, according to SSNNL statement.
The Sardar Sarovar Dam Authority effectively managed the situation by controlling the maximum flood discharge from 21.75 lakh cusecs to 18.62 lakh cusecs, reducing the peak flow by 4 lakh cusecs through careful gate operations and utilising available cushion, it said.
“It’s important to note that there was no significant rainfall, outflow from ISP, or forecasts by the Central Water Commission on September 13, 14, and 15. Therefore, there appeared to be no compelling reason to release water from SSP during these specific dates,” it added.