Sardar Sarovar Dam- CASE STUDY

Development Top Down Case Study

what problem is the dam trying to fix

• in India, rainfall falls very unevenly across the country, with some areas getting much more rainfall than others that have semi-desert climates

• rainfall also unevenly distributed throughout the year, with months Nov-Mar getting little to no rainfall, while May-Sep is monsoon season with extremely heavy rain

• India’s population dramatically increasing meaning there is a higher need for drinking, washing, cooking food and watering crops to be eaten

what are super dams and what do they do

• store water that rains during the monsoon season to then be used during the drier months

• encourage economic development by providing drinking water and electricity for cities and industries

• allows the population to stay healthy and therefore be able to work and to power cities and farmland with water via irrigation during dry season

• solves India’s water problem and increases development

where is the Sardar Sarovar dam built

along the Narmada river

how tall is the SSD

163m

who started the idea of the dam and in what year

Jawaharlal Nehru in 1961

when did the dam become a reality and why

• 1979

• as part of a development scheme funded by World Bank through International Bank for Reconstruction and Development

how big was the loan the gov took from the world bank to fund this

$200 mil

when did construction of SSD begin

1987

where were the dams built and why

along western India’s major rivers because in western India rainfall is much higher

how many dams and superdams is India currently building along the Narmada

• 3000 dams

• includes 30 super dams

benefits of SSD

• benefits farmers of western India as network of canals irrigate their farmland during droughts or dry season

• benefits others who buy these crops and animals produced on these farms

• benefits India’s cities; dam provided drinking water

• produces hydroelectric power which provides electricity to India’s cities and drinking water

how many hectares of land in which states does the SSD irrigate

• 1.8 million hectares

• Gujarat

• Maharashtra

• Rahasthan

• Madhya Pradesh

how many litres of drinking water does SSD provide daily

3.5 billion

problems with SSD

• people living in these rural areas don’t receive the benefits of the scheme as the majority cannot afford electricity, meaning only rich and cities receive benefits

• only some farmers receive benefits of irrigation; good quality farmland has to be flooded, so fertile sediment deposited on floodplains each year lost

• negatively affected in future, as some seismologists believe the weight of large dams on the Earth can trigger earthquakes

• dams also flooded religious and historic sites of extreme importance to India people and taking away from their culture

positive social impacts of SSD

• people in cities would have access to power and drinking water

• farmers would make more money, as they have more crops to sell as a result of irrigation as they have water all year around

• larger food production means more people able to buy food they need to live and farmers able to produce food for their families all year round

negative social impacts of SSD

• villages flooded, leaving people having to relocate; loss of possessions, house, job and farmland

• cultural ceremonies disrupted as families forced to separate

• some farmers would’ve struggled due to their farms being flooded by the dams construction, leaving them without income, home or way to provide

how many villages were flooded by the dam

234

how many people had to relocate due to the dam flooding their homes

320,000

positive economic impacts of SSD

• dam provides irrigation to farmland which may have experienced drought during the drier months, meaning more crops can be grown, which can be sold, increasing India’s economic growth

• provides cities with power, promotes bigger businesses to invest and locate to India, increasing economic wealth

• power allows India to have and develop more advanced tech, making this tech more widespread and widely available, increasing India’s development as it increases manufacturing

negative economic impact of SSD

costs a lot of money; Indian gov had to take out loans from the World Bank

positive environmental impacts of SSD

• dam uses HEP to produce electricity for India’s cities, which is renewable, meaning it won’t run out and doesn’t negatively impact the environment

• areas prone to drought now have constant water supply, meaning animals won’t die due to lack of water or loss of habitat during these droughts

negative environmental impacts of SSD

• lots of good quality farmland flooded by the dam, meaning loss of habitats for wildlife

• land became islands due to inundation

• crops lost due to flooding

how many hectares of land became islands due to inundation

over 7000