Rihand Dam

In terms of achieving economic growth and development for Indian authorities and business interests, the Rihand Dam has been an unmitigated success.  The construction of the dam allowed for the Singrauli region to expand rapidly in the ensuing years, with various industries emerging in the region.  Local industries produce a wide range of goods, such as commercial vehicles, mining equipment, locomotives, telecommunication cables, and power generation equipment.  To facilitate this growth, the Indian government subsequently purchased thousands of acres of land in neighboring villages and throughout the district of Madhya Pradesh to sell to industrialists.  These plants required tens of thousands of workers to operate them, creating opportunities for Indians to earn better wages.[9]  Singh points out firms did not hire the locals displaced by the dam. Instead, the government and companies chose to hire laborers from other regions within India.

As these other industries arose, coal remained the driving force behind the expansion of the Singrauli economy.  With nine billion tons of coal reserves, Singrauli has long been viewed as “India’s energy capital;” its vast coal reserves, discovered in 1840, have long attracted mining companies and state planners sought to harvest this resource to power the industry that eventually came to dominate the area.[10]  Coal mining increased precipitously in the decades after the construction of Rihand; By 1980, production totaled around six million tons and at the time Singh wrote his article, was expected to reach 30 million tons by 1995 and eventually eclipse 75 million tons amounting to more than half of India’s entire production of coal in 1983.[9]

As the Indian government’s primary concern has been to foster growth, it has often chosen the most expedient route to achieve its goals, at the expense of the environment. The construction of the Rihand Dam was only the beginning of industrialization in the Singrauli region.  As state and private entities have continued to develop the region, pollution has increased, threatening the environment and wellbeing of residents, while taking valuable farmland.[10]  Pollution from industry has harmed the health of local residents, as well.  Fluoride contamination in the dam’s reservoir water pollutes groundwater, consequently affecting drinking water and agriculture.  Researchers estimate that more than 60 million people from 17 states deal with the effects of dental, skeletal, or non-skeletal fluorosis, a chronic condition caused by excessive intake of fluorine compounds, marked by mottling of the teeth and, if severe, calcification of the ligaments.  While some fluoride contamination may be caused by natural processes, human activities such as coal and mineral mining and the operation of thermal power plants have led to increased pollution.[15]  Coupled with increased demands for water, more residents are consequently forced to drink this contaminated water.

Despite the ramifications of this industry, the Indian government has often willfully ignored the consequences. On January 13, 2010, the Ministry of Environment and Forests halted all mining in the region until environmental concerns were addressed.  Indian officials from the Central Pollution Control Board and researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology found the area to be “critically polluted,” but mining was allowed to continue in July 2011.[10]  This tension between immediate growth and environmental safeguards continues, as Indian authorities continue to push for more money (energy production and economic growth), ignoring the concerns of local governments and the lives of these people.

The most significant consequence of the construction of the Rihand Dam has been the internal displacement of local tribes.  Development projects throughout India have led to the forced migration of tens of millions with India, creating a phenomenon that Indian environmental activist Parshuram Ray dubs “Development Induced Displacement.”  After British colonial rule, the Indian government ambitiously sought to develop their newly independent country.  The state facilitated the construction of dams, mega dams, mines, factories, and irrigation projects.[16]   Despite governments making promises to these groups, little action has been taken to alleviate their suffering.  Researchers estimate the number of displaced persons for dam projects across India to top 50 million and believe official statistics often understate the true level of destruction that these projects bring to mask their true cost.[16]  Despite this forced relocation across India being rather commonplace, the government is most likely violating its own constitution, which guarantees its citizens a right to life.[14]  But there is little political will to address or contest this, and authorities have no impetus to change their practices.

By 1960, the dam was nearing completion and almost ready to be put into use. 108 villages containing 50,000 people were immediately put at risk, but the government provided no assistance to assist their relocation.  Instead, in May–June 1961, 20,000 locals went to protest the lack of government action to protect their welfare. Instead of acknowledging the protestors' concerns, the local Deputy Commissioner instead sent two thousand policemen to force the protestors home and ordered the dam gates to be closed, forcing people from their homes with only 24 hours of notice.[9]  The same villagers were then forced to relocate in 1965 when coal mines opened, again in 1980 when the National Thermal Power Corporation broke ground on a thermal power project, and once more in 2009, when the Essar Power MP broke ground on a new plant.  Despite being displaced as many as five times, families forced out by the construction of Rihand never found a new permanent home.[13]

Enduring such upheavals caused psychic harm in addition to the precipitous drop in living standards.  Parshuram Ray goes into further detail when discussing the traumas caused by displacement:

The long drawn out, dehumanising [sic], disempowering and painful process of displacement has led to widespread traumatic psychological and socio-cultural consequences.  It causes dismantling of production systems, desecration of ancestral sacred zones or graves and temples, scattering of kinship groups and family systems, disorganization of informal social networks that provide mutual support, weakening of self-management and social control and disruption of trade and market links etc… Essentially, the very cultural identity of the displaced community and individual is subjected to massive onslaught leading to very severe physiological stress and psychological trauma.[13]

Despite these very real traumas, the national government has failed to alleviate suffering in any meaningful way.  Planners are not pressured by governments to plan for these consequences.  The disruption in communities that these projects cause also quash potential political unrest or protest, as people can no longer rely on their destroyed networks.

Within these forced displacements, gender and economic issues bring more hardship.  Indian law provides no relief to displaced women and women do not enjoy the same economic protections and freedoms that men do.  Women are consequently forced to rely on male members of the household, as they are not entitled to any benefits the government offers.  For tribes that have only lived off the land, shifting to a market economy is also a massive shock because they have never engaged in such a system.[13]

The constant and forced resettlement, in addition to being cruel and callous, threatens gains from these projects such as the Rihand Dam.  The intergenerational traumas wound those forced to leave, but also disrupt stable villages and economies, ultimately dooming millions of future Indians to poverty.