A CASE FOR URGENTLY ASSESSING IMPACT OF DRILLING AND BLASTING FOR CONSTRUCTION … · 2017. 3. 4. · The Drill and blast method (DBM) is the conventional tunneling method in hard

December 2015

Himdhara Environment Research and Action Collective Palampur, Himachal Pradesh

[email protected] www.himdhara.org

mailto:[email protected]

A CASE FOR URGENTLY ASSESSING IMPACT OF DRILLING AND

BLASTING FOR CONSTRUCTION OF TUNNELS AND ROADS IN

HIMACHAL

Himdhara, Environment Research and Action Collective

I. Hydropower Development in Himachal using Run-of-the-River Technology

Himachal Pradesh is the largest producer of Hydropower in India. The state has already

installed 9433 MW worth of projects (a total of 53 large, medium and small projects and

several micro-hydels). It is is planning to harness a total 27436 MW1 of power from the

five major river basins of the state namely Satluj, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Yamuna. The

Satluj river basin alone has a planned potential of 13,332 MW. Projects with a capacity of

3490 MW are under construction, 2623 MW are under various stages of clearance and

another 121 MW are under investigation (planning).

It is thus clear that the magnitude of Hydropower Projects construction in the state is

large.

The Hydropower development that is being undertaken in Himachal and the entire

Himalayan region of India is based on the Run-of-the-river technology which produces

electricity by checking and diverting river flow. The diverted water is made to flow

through underground tunnels in the mountains and released downstream on the turbines

that spin generators before returning the water back to the river. It is important to note

that the projects using this technology are being built in a cascade form on a river basin.

This means that at the tail of one project, the head of the next is located.

It is critical to note that a series of these projects are being built bumper to bumper on the

streams and rivers to harness the capacity of the rivers to produce power to its maximum.

Use of the Drill and Blast Method of Underground Tunneling

The construction of Hydropower projects using the ROR technology involves surface as

well as underground construction. The surface construction consists of high concrete

gravity dam, roads, power house, colony and labour camps etc. The underground civil

works for the ROR projects are an extremely critical and substantial component. The

typical underground construction has the following components:

A headrace tunnel (These tunnels are large enough to allow the passage of heavy vehicles. A Head race tunnel can be upto 9 to 10 m diametres.)

A surge shaft

Underground powerhouse

Underground transformer hall

1 �Economic Survey of the State of Himachal Pradesh 2014

Tailrace tunnel

Desilting chambers

Adit Tunnels (access tunnels)

In the Satluj River Basin alone the total length of tunnels once all the planned

hydroprojects are built will be 185 kms. If all the planned projects in Himachal and

across the Himalayas are constructed there will be hundreds of kilometres of tunnels

underneath the mountains in this region.

The Drill and blast method (DBM) is the conventional tunneling method in hard rock and

is being used in the hydropower construction across Himachal. In this method excavation

is achieved by drilling a predetermined pattern of holes in the rock face, filling these

holes with explosives, which are then discharged to crack and fracture the rock. Loosened

debris is removed and the tunnel is secured.

II. Blast induced vibrations and slope destabilisation

It is important to note that local people, environmentalists and experts have been raising

concerns with regard to the the blast induced vibrations caused by the use of the DBM for

tunneling and their geological and ecological impacts.

(A) In Himachal Pradesh a series of occurances of slope destabilisation have been seen

over the past few years in areas where construction work involving DBM for

underground tunneling or for roads. The most evident impacts of these have been:

- Seepages and leakages in tunnels

- Land Slides

- Damages to Houses

Given below is an audio-visual documentation of a series of events of slope

destabilisation, caving in, collapse in the Ravi and Satluj valleys in the year 2014-15.

IMAGE 1

Project Chamera III HEP

Capacity (MW) 231

Basin Ravi

District Chamba

Village Mokhr

GPS Co-ordinates N 31° 01’ 18.2” E 76° 37’58.1”

Picture was taken on 29/04/2014

Elevation 1263 m

Remarks In April 2012, there was a massive leakage in the 16km HRT of the

Chamera III project just above the Mokhar village leading to severe

threat to the village downhill so much so that the 40 families residing

there had to be evacuated. This picture is of Adit 6 of the tunnel. The

leakage occurred during testing of the generating units.

News reports http://www.jagran.com/news/state-10802084.html

http://www.jagran.com/news/state-10802084.html

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120418/himplus.htm#2

http://www.jagran.com/news/state-10802084.htmlhttp://www.jagran.com/news/state-10802084.htmlhttp://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120418/himplus.htm#2

IMAGE 2


Capacity (MW) 231

Basin Ravi

District Chamba

Village Mokhr

GPS Co-ordinates N 31° 01’18.2” E 76° 37’54.1”

Elevation 1361 m

Picture were taken on 29/04/2014

Remarks Leakages in the surge shaft of the Chamera III tunnel just above

Mokhar village.

IMAGE 3


Capacity (MW) 231

Basin Ravi

District Chamba

Village Mokhar


Elevation 1213 m


Remarks Vidya Devi’s house in Mokhar was completely damaged by the

landslide caused due to the seepage from the surge shaft in April 2012.

IMAGE 4


Capacity (MW) 231

Basin Ravi

District Chamba

Village Mokhr


Elevation 1202 m


Remarks Shri Jagdish Sharma standing in front of the debris of his leftover house

after the leakage tragedy .

IMAGE 5


Capacity (MW) 231

Basin Ravi

District Chamba

Village Mokhr


Elevation 1361 m


Remarks The pastures of the village buried under the landslide caused by

seepages.

Damages caused to houses in Mokhar village due to leakages in the HRT

IMAGE 6

Project Chanju HEP

Capacity (MW) 36

Basin Ravi (Chanju Nallah)

District Chamba

Village Dhalanjan


Elevation 1308 m


Remarks Cracks on the walls of Aaganbhadi Kendra of Dhalanjan village due to

the tunnel construction of Chanju HEP.

IMAGE 7

Project Chanju HEP

Capacity (MW) 36


District Chamba

Village Dhalanjan


Elevation 1309 m


Remarks Lilo Devi’s house was located just above the HRT of Chanju project. 12

houses were completely damaged by the tunnel construction in this

village in December 2013.

IMAGE 8

Project Chanju HEP

Capacity (MW) 36


District Chamba

Village Dhalanjan


Elevation 1280 m


Remarks Power house site of Chanju HEP, where 1000s of trees were damaged

by the blasting for the tunnel construction due to activation of a

landslide.

IMAGE 9

People of Dhalanjan village show their destroyed and dilapidated houses. They are now

residing in temporary shelters (tents)

IMAGE

10

Project Karcham Wangtoo HEP (Jaiprakash Power Venture Limited)

Capacity (MW) 1200

Basin Satluj

District Kinnaur

Village Yulla

GPS Co-ordinates N 31°33’00.6” E 078°08’14.1”

Elevation 2536 m


Remarks Jyoti Prakash’s house suffered from cracks because of the tunnel.

IMAGE 11


Capacity (MW) 1200 MW

Basin Satluj

District Kinnaur

Village Urni



Elevation 2341m

Remarks The apple orchards of almost 13 families in Urni village are sliding

down. Urni is sitting rather precariously above the junction of the

flushing tunnel, Head Race Tunnel and Adit tunnel of Karcham

Wangtoo HEP.

IMAGE 12


Capacity (MW) 1200

Basin Satluj

District Kinnaur

Village Urni


Elevation 2356 m


Remarks Ramanand’s house where several cracks and crevices developed due to

the blasting and construction.

IMAGE 13


Capacity (MW) 1200

Basin Satluj

District Kinnaur

Village Urni



Elevation 2451m

Remarks The heavy rainfall in 2013 triggered many landslides in the area

causing extensive damage to personal property (orchards).

IMAGE 14


Capacity (MW) 1000

Basin Satluj

District Kinnaur

Village Runnag


Elevation 2268 m


Remarks Runnag Chashma is used by the villagers for washing and drinking.

The water discharge has reduced substantially.

IMAGE

15


Capacity (MW) 1200

Basin Satluj

District Kinnaur

Village Runnag


Elevation 2307 m


Remarks Munni Lal’s apple orchard which was impacted by a landslide last year

during 2013 monsoon.

IMAGE 16

Project Karcham-Wangtoo (Jaiprakash Power Venture Limited)

Capacity (MW) 1200

Basin Satluj

District Kinnaur

Village Runang



Elevation 2388m

Remarks The landslide almost touched people's houses. Residents are now

building check walls by themselves as a safety measure. Cracks have

developed in houses.

IMAGE

17


Capacity (MW) 1200

Basin Satluj

District Kinnaur

Village Meeru


Elevation 2149 m


Remarks Landslide just above the tunnel of KW project at Rangle. It was 2014

monsoons that activated the sliding.

IMAGE

18


Capacity (MW) 1200

Basin Satluj

District Kinnaur

Village Meeru


Elevation 2708 m


Remarks Landslide at Meeru village activated last year which destroyed the only

passage to the village.

IMAGE 19


Capacity (MW) 1200

Basin Satluj

District Kinnaur

Village Meeru



Elevation 2171m

Remarks The area lies below the Hindustan Tibet road. Apple orchards have

been destroyed due to frequent land sliding in the area. Cracks have

developed throughout on empty patches.

IMAGE20


Capacity (MW) 1200

Basin Satluj

District Kinnaur

Village Meeru



Elevation 2111m

Remarks Satish Kumar's area lies in red zone as slides have reached the

settlement area. Parts of apple orchards are completely destroyed,

cracks have developed all over the land, some parts of land have

caved in.

IMAGE 21


Capacity (MW) 1200

Basin Satluj

District Kinnaur

Village Meeru



Elevation 2388m

Remarks The area stands completely destroyed by the landslide and other

remaining area has developed cracks. Concerned authorities have

visited the area but no action has been taken yet.

IMAGE22

Project Karcham-Wangtoo HEP (Jaiprakash Power Venture Limited)

Capacity (MW) 1200

Basin Satluj

District Kinnaur

Village Meeru

GPS Co-o

rdinates

N 31°31’51.6” E 078°08’48.5”


Elevation 2447m

Remarks A newly constructed house in middle of apple orchards now partially

destroyed by the landslide. The affected family has been paid no

compensation as yet. Authorities have visited the area but no action

taken as yet.

IMAGE 23


Capacity (MW) 1200

Basin Satluj

District Kinnaur

Village Chugaon


Elevation 2072 m


Remarks Jagdish Chand Negi’s house was impacted because of the tunnel

construction.

IMAGE 24


Capacity (MW) 1200

Basin Satluj

District Kinnaur

Village Chugaon


Elevation 2065 m


Remarks A cow shed in Chugaon which developed cracks.

News Links: http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130128/himachal.htm#7

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130128/himachal.htm#7

http://www.bbnnews24.com/news.php?id=678

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/regional/9-621-trees-to-be-axed-for-jaypee-

transmission-line/

http://www.dayandnightnews.com/2012/07/seepage-in-karcham-wangtoo-project-tunnel/

IMAGE 25

Project Nathpa Jhakari HEP

Capacity (MW) 1500

Basin Satluj

District Kinnaur

Village Nigulseri


Elevation 1864 m


Remarks On 25th May 2014 this landslide occurred in Nigulseri village. Locals

claim that the tunnel of Nathpa Jhakri Project had already disturbed the

area which was further disturbed because of the transmission tower

construction for Baspa and Karchham.

http://www.bbnnews24.com/news.php?id=678http://indianexpress.com/article/india/regional/9-621-trees-to-be-axed-for-jaypee-transmission-line/http://indianexpress.com/article/india/regional/9-621-trees-to-be-axed-for-jaypee-transmission-line/http://www.dayandnightnews.com/2012/07/seepage-in-karcham-wangtoo-project-tunnel/

IMAGE26


Capacity (MW) 1500

Basin Satluj

District Kinnaur

Village Nigulseri


Elevation 1662 m


Remarks Geeta Ram’s house affected by the landslide at Nigulseri.

IMAGE 27


Capacity (MW) 1500

Basin Satluj

District Kinnaur

Village Nigulseri


Elevation 1689 m


Remarks Shamsher Singh’s cracked house at Nigulseri as of May 2014. A total of

13 houses have suffered such damages.

IMAGE 28


Capacity (MW) 1500

Basin Satluj

District Shimla

Village Jhakari


Elevation 1167 m


Remarks This landslide has occurred near powerhouse of the Nathpa Jhakri

project

IMAGE 29

Project Shongtong- Karcham HEP

Capacity (MW) 402

Basin Satluj

District Kinnaur

Village Meber



Elevation 2740m

Remarks This area is called Limkatay. This area stands completely damaged by

landslides and avalanche. The land has caved in.

IMAGE 30


Capacity (MW) 402

Basin Satluj

District Kinnaur

Village Barang

GPS Co-ordinates N 31°30’ 18.0” E 078°15’59.7”


Elevation 2474m

Remarks The mid-section of the land in consideration has been swept clean by

2013 flood. The use of high intensity explosives for blasting further

aggravated the sliding. The land belonged to four families who were

completely dependent on this land for their livelihood.

IMAGE 31


Capacity (MW) 402

Basin Satluj

District Kinnaur

Village Barang



Elevation 2196m

Remarks Landslide near a stream at Barang link road.

IMAGE 32


Capacity (MW) 402

Basin Satluj

District Kinnaur

Village Tangling



Elevation 2021

Remarks The entire road was under debris, the village below the road is under

threat.

IMAGE 33


Capacity (MW) 402

Basin Satluj

District Kinnaur

Village Powari



Elevation 2289m

Remarks Narendra Singh’s house developed massive cracks after the tunnel

construction began.

IMAGE 34


Capacity (MW) 402

Basin Satluj

District Kinnaur

Village Sudarang



Elevation 2172m

Remarks Twenty families have moved to another place, with only one remaining.

The family has to be moved immediately as the land is fragile and

prone to further landslides. This area had (before the slide took place)

buildings and shops which were swept off during 2013 flood.

IMAGE

35

Project Integrated Kashang II HEP

Capacity (MW) 243

Basin Satluj

District Kinnaur

Village Pangi

Way Point 879



Elevation 2651m

Remarks Upper side of Pangi village. Apple orchards damaged by a landslide in

2013.

IMAGE 36


Capacity (MW) 243

Basin Satluj

District Kinnaur

Village Pangi

Way Point 880



Elevation 2634m

Remarks This photograph shows Mr. Harbhagwan Singh's completely ruined

house.

IMAGE 37


Capacity (MW) 243 MW

Basin Satluj

District Kinnaur

Village Pangi

Way Point 881



Elevation 2614m

Remarks Half damaged house of Kalawati Devi. Her farm lies below her house.

Huge cracks have developed in her farm and also lower portion of her

farm was swept away by landslides along with the road seen in

photograph.

IMAGE 38


Capacity (MW) 243

Basin Satluj

District Kinnaur

Village Pangi

Way Point 877



Elevation 2609m

Remarks This is Jakmun Negi”s farm. Cracks have developed due to vibration in

land.

IMAGE 39


Capacity (MW) 243

Basin Satluj

District Kinnaur

Village Pangi

Way Point 883



Elevation 2587m

Remarks This is below Kalawati Devi's house. Damaged apple orchards belong

to her neighbors.

IMAGE

40


Capacity (MW) 243

Basin Satluj

District Kinnaur

Village Pangi

Way Point 885



Elevation 2567m

Remarks Damaged farms of Mr. Parvinder Singh. He has a total of 6 bighas out

of which 4 bighas were lost in a landslide.

(B) Literature Review We could consider some of the internationally published scientific research papers for the

same:

Petley, D. A. V. I. D. (2013). Global losses from landslides associated with dams and

reservoirs. Ital J Eng Geol Environ, 6, 63-72.

“In the construction phase of many projects, landslide accidents continue to occur

regularly. In many cases these events are situated in or around construction sites;

landslides onto temporary camps are also common. These events have been responsible

for an unacceptable level of loss of life in the last decade.”

Johansson, J., Lovolt, F., Andersen, K. H., Madshus, C., & Aabøe, R. (2013). Impact of

blast vibrations on the release of quick clay slides. In Proceedings of 18th international

conference on soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering, ICSMGE, Paris.

“In 2009, a large quick clay slide involving up to 500,000 m3 soil, and affecting some 10

houses, was triggered by rock blasting for a road cutting in Kattmarka near the city of

Namsos in Norway. For this event it was concluded the trigger was not the vibrations

themselves, but a large block of rock that was punched in to the soil by the blast effect,

due to unfavourable fault planes in the rock...”

The literature review further indicates that if blast vibrations are assumed to have

triggered a slide it is often in combination with other adverse factor such as low stability

prior to blasting, higher than normal ground water level due to high precipitation, erosion

at the slope base, temporary placement of fill masses, etc.

Djordjevic, N., Brunton, I., Cepuritis, P., Chitombo, G., & Heslop, G. (1999). Effect of

blast vibration on slope stability. Proceedings ofEXPLO 1999, 105-115.

“There is a significant amount of past evidence that links blasting and occurrences of

slope failure.”

Dvořák, A. (1977). Landslides caused by blasting. Bulletin of the International

Association of Engineering Geology-Bulletin de l'Association Internationale de Géologie

de l'Ingénieur, 16(1), 166-168. (Abstract Only) http://link.springer.com/

“The man-made landslides can also be caused by blasting operations. Under

unfavourable conditions e.g. if the strata of a rock massif dip into the slope, the

damage can be considerable. It is shown that in addition to the acceleration of the

vibrations caused by blasting the displacement amplitude has a substancial influence

on the origin of a slope movement and its limit values are given in relation to the

jointing of the rock massif.”

While there have been investigations by the State Geological Wing in some of these

areas, the reports made by them are inadequate and superficial. So far no detailed and

independent assessment has been undertaken on the geological implications of the blast

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02591472

induced vibrations as a recult of underground tunneling work in the fragile regions of the

Himalayas. There needs to a clear study of the risk factors vis a vis geology, siesmicity,

landslide proneness, flood proneness at a cumulative river basin level before planning the

magnitude of surface and under-ground construction in the Himalayan regions.

III. Impact on hydrological regimes

The other major reported impact in the villages located along the tunnel alignment is the

drying up or reduction in the discharge of the natural water springs. This has been evident

in case of many projects like Sawra Kuudu, Parbati II, Chamera II and III, Nathpa Jhakri,

Karchham Wangtoo. Data obtained from the Irrigation and Public Health Department for

the 1200 MW Karchham Wangtoo Project indicates

According to information provided by Irrigation and Public Health Department (IPH)

Himachal, in reply to RTI application filed (Annexure), there are total 167 number of

water sources in the project affected area of Karcham Wangtoo HEP which falls under the

jurisdiction of Gram Sabha. Out of these 167 water sources 146 water sources are

traditional water sources and 21 water sources pertains to IPH department. IPH

department has collected and discharge data and readings of a twice a year for individual

sources i.e. in the first half of year (From January to June) and in the second half of a

year (from July to December) from 2006 to 2010. To know the impact of construction of

Karcham Wangtoo HEP on water sources, IPH department compared the discharge data

collected in the first half and the second half of each year. For maintenance of these

water sources and for development of alternative facilities the funds are coming from

LADA (Local Area Development Authority)

Table-1- Yearwise information provided by IPH department on status of water

sources

Year No. of Water Sources dried Discharge level reduced

2006 10 55

2007 7 68

2008 37 32

2009 43 67

2010 23 6

Analysis of Table-1

In 2009 almost 43 i.e. almost 26% water sources dried up and in 67 i.e almost 40% water sources discharge reduced.

The variation in number of water sources dried up drastically reduced from 43 number in 2009 to 23 number in 2010 seems to be due to heavy rainfall in 2010

Discharged level reduced from 67 water sources to 6 because IPH department compared the data collected in two different season of the year 2010 not with the

data collected before construction of project i.e 2006.

Analysis of Table-2

1. Discharge level reduced in 93% of water sources in this period 2. 83% water sources discharged level reduced by more than half 3. More than 50% water sources are either dried up or in verge of drying up.

Table-2: Status of water sources when discharge level collected in the 1st half of 2006

compared with discharge level collected in first half of 2010

Status of Water sources

Discharge increased 4 5.71%

No change in discharge 1 1.43%

Reduction in discharge from 1 -

IMAGE 1


Capacity (MW) 1200

Basin Satluj

District Kinnaur

Village Choling (Urni Panchayat)


Elevation 1825 m


Remarks Choling water source/chashma near the highway. The water was used

for drinking not just by the people in Choling but also by those passing

by the route. Owing to the tunnel construction, this source has totally

dried up. Source Discharge

LPS 2006

Discharge

LPS 2007

Discharge

LPS 2008

Discharge

LPS 2009

Discharge

LPS 2010

Discharge

LPS 2011

Discharge

LPS 2012

Discharge

LPS 2013

Discharge

LPS 2014 Choling 0.11 0.05 Dry Dry Dry Dry Dry Dry Dry

IMAGE 2


Capacity (MW) 1200

Basin Satluj

District Kinnaur

Village Yulla (Yulla Panchayat)


Elevation 2481 m


Remarks Another source of water -Ptokhey-II, whose discharge reduced by 30 to

40 percent. Source Discharge

LPS 2006

Discharge

LPS 2007

Discharge

LPS 2008

Discharge

LPS 2009

Discharge

LPS 2010

Discharge

LPS 2011

Discharge

LPS 2012

Discharge

LPS 2013

Discharge

LPS 2014

Ptokhey-

II

0.8 0.7 2.2 2 2.5 2.5 1.8 2.8 2.1

5.1.2 Impact on Water Availability and Quality

IMAGE 3


Capacity (MW) 1200

Basin Satluj

District Kinnaur

Village Choling (Meeru panchyat)


Elevation 1822 m


Remarks Murim water source dried up due to Karchham Wangtoo's 17 Km long

tunnel. The stream is not only surrounded by grazing lands but also

provides drinking water for livestock.

Source Discharge

LPS 2006

Discharge

LPS 2007

Discharge

LPS 2008

Discharge

LPS 2009

Discharge

LPS 2010

Discharge

LPS 2011

Discharge

LPS 2012

Discharge

LPS 2013

Discharge

LPS 2014

Murim Not

Measure

0.7 Dry Dry Dry Dry Dry Dry Dry

IMAGE 4


Capacity (MW) 1200

Basin Satluj

District Kinnaur

Village Meeru (Meeru Panchayat)


Elevation 2708 m


Remarks Bhudh Kaso-I IPH source has fully dried due to tunnel construction.

The entire village was dependent on this water for drinking. Source Discharg

e LPS

2006

Discharg

e LPS

2007

Discharg

e LPS

2008

Discharg

e LPS

2009

Discharg

e LPS

2010

Discharg

e LPS

2011

Discharg

e LPS

2012

Discharg

e LPS

2013

Discharge

LPS 2014

Bhudh

Kaso-I 1.5 0.8 0.08 0.05 0.2 0.3 0.12 0.15 0.2

IMAGE 5


Capacity (MW) 1200

Basin Satluj

District Kinnaur

Village Urni (Urni Panchayat)


Elevation 2148 m

Picture were taken

on

28/05/2014

Remarks Ramanand Negi showed Kage water source which emerged all of a

sudden in 2006. He indicated the location as a point where a potential

landslide is getting active.

Source Discharge

LPS 2006

Discharge

LPS 2007

Discharge

LPS 2008

Discharge

LPS 2009

Discharge

LPS 2010

Discharge

LPS 2011

Discharge

LPS 2012

Discharge

LPS 2013

Discharge

LPS 2014

Kage Not

measure

0.15 0.07 0.05 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.15 0.1

IMAGE 5


Capacity (MW) 1200

Basin Satluj

District Kinnaur

Village Urni (Urni Panchayat)



Elevation 2471m

Remarks There existed a traditional flour mill owned by Banwarilal, which

ran on Kuhl (from Darfo Nallah) but now this kuhl is completely

destroy. Banwarilal does not use his watermill anymore.

IMAGE 6


Capacity (MW) 1200

Basin Satluj

District Kinnaur

Village Chagaon (Chagaon Panchayat)



Elevation 2177m

Remarks Fully dried Yach Bio water source in village Chagaon.

Source Discharge LPS 2006

Discharge LPS 2007

Discharge LPS 2008

Discharge LPS 2009

Discharge LPS 2010

Discharge LPS 2011

Discharge LPS 2012

Discharge LPS 2013

Discharge LPS 2014

Yach

Bio

0.5 0.15 0.05 Dry Dry Dry Dry Dry Dry

Water Availability: As mentioned earlier, the river Satluj is not the main source of water

in the area. The natural springs and ‘chashme’ are the key sources of water for people

living in the area for their own domestic consumption, livestock use and irrigation

purposes. In most of the villages except those situated on high hills, IPH Department has

laid down the pipelines to connect the natural springs (at upper reaches) to the households

through storage tanks for water supply after providing primary treatment. The villages

those are located on higher reaches depend directly on natural springs or khads flowing in

vicinity. Hence, massive hydropower development in the area, which is causing diversion

of flow from river for power generation, will not directly put an impact on availability of

water for consumption purpose for village population. However, complete drying of

natural springs (at its original location) has been reported by the villagers due to

construction and blasting activities. It has been reported that more than 30 chashme have

dried up in Yangpa village due to the construction works for Sanjay Vidyut Pariyojna.

Also, it was found out during primary surveys conducted for the study that more than 8-

12 chashme have dried up in Nathpa-Jhakri areas due to NJHEP project. Considering a

post project measure, SJVNL has conducted a monitoring campaign for examining the

flow of springs. It was established that blasting/digging activities can cause

building up of excessive water pressure at particular location, which may lead to shift in

the position of a spring or reduction in the flow rate of spring, but complete drying of

springs is not likely. Due to construction of NJHEP, the IPH water supply scheme was

badly affected in following villages:

( Source: IPH Department, Rampur )

Safety Issues

The case of Karchham Wangtoo Tunnel Seepages

In December 2012 during an inspection by the officials of the CWC, DOE and CEA in

the case of the 1200 MW Karchham Wangtoo project profuse leakages were found from

the surge shaft possibly due to cracks and fissures that may have developed. Through an

RTI application we had sought some information wrt the incident and we found the

following (Annuexure) – Response of DOE to RTI Application dated ):

The letter issued to the project proponent by the authorities provided no details of the exact nature and extent of the leakage. A news report with

appeared in The Tribune on January 27th 2013 (Annexure) mentioned the

quantum to be 5 to 9 cumecs which is a substantial amount.

The response also clearly states that till 2013 there was no authority in the state for control and monitoring of safety and water flows as required by the

Hydropower Policy 2006 of the state of Himachal Pradesh.

In the meanwhile while several hydropower projects have been/are being constructed and some are even ready for commissioning in the absence of any

safety control monitoring authority. This is a matter of serious concern

considering.

Further, this not the first time that there has been a safety issue reported for a

Name of Scheme Habitation

Majhewali 490

Koshgar 130

Kartot 437

Chandapur 138

WSS Khasha Shah Jaleend Gasho 622

Shah 326

WSS Sharn Rattanpur

Rattanpur 151

Rattanpur 50

Basara 329

Sansra 282

Halti 229

WSS Jhakri Jhakri 4980

Total 12 habitations 8164

Table No 5.1 Affected Water Supply of IPH due to NJHEP project

Present

population

WSS Maghara Majholi Koshgar

WSS Kartot Chandpur

hydro project. Please refer to news item of the Tribune dated 17th April 2012

regarding leakage from the head race tunnel of Chamera III HEP (Annexure)

Even today, local communities from villages around the Karchham Wangtoo

tunnel are reporting that leakages in some portions of the tunnel. Until and

unless a strict monitoring mechanism is created this problem is unlikely to be

resolved. In such a scenario the state government should take measures to not

commission projects unless the safety issues have been addressed and an authority is in

place to examine the same.

The reservoir burst Aleo-II

On January 12 2014 the reservoir of the newly built Aleo II hydro project on the Aleo

nallah, a tributary of the Beas river, collapsed during its very first trial run o. Quite

shockingly, neither the local authorities nor the villagers were intimated by the project

authorities about its testing. Though, there was no casualty reported, but the incident

could have conveniently claimed lives of several workers had it been a working day.

Makeshift tin shelters for workers built on the boundary of the reservoir wall towards

Aleo, and also a double storey building adjacent to the power house of Aleo II would

have been washed away had the water not flown straight into the Beas.

For the locals, bursting of the dam at this stage, was a result of its location and the poor

quality material used for construction. Govind, a resident of Aleo Village was not very

shocked at what happened. According to him, “what occurred was inevitable as the

foundation of Aleo II stood on the indiscriminate muck and silt dumped by Allian

Duhangan, a 192 MW project on the same nallah”. On being asked whether the project

authorities had sought a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Gram Sabha, Govind

says, it was all done under the blanket – without consent of the majority.

Penstock Burst at Sorang Nallah

http://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/penstock-pipe-burst-at-himachal-hydro-project-

three-feared-dead/story-4JMjxYUOW9ciwSGDmB9ByL.html

At least three people were feared dead after a penstock pipe burst at the 100MW Sorang

Hydroelectric project at Burang village in Bhabanagar sub-division of Kinnaur district on

Wednesday night.

Two securities guards were reportedly buried in the muck while a local resident was

washed away. The gushing water also damaged the village path and the land adjoining the

project, besides destroying some makeshift houses.

The local administration also rushed to the spot at midnight to take stock of the situation.

SDM Nichar Neelam Dulta said efforts were on to rescue missing people.

“Relief material will be distributed to needy people today. Nothing can be said about the

incident right now,” she said.

The villagers have demanded action against the project. In the wake of tense situation,

police arrangements have also been made in the village.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/penstock-pipe-burst-at-himachal-hydro-project-three-feared-dead/story-4JMjxYUOW9ciwSGDmB9ByL.htmlhttp://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/penstock-pipe-burst-at-himachal-hydro-project-three-feared-dead/story-4JMjxYUOW9ciwSGDmB9ByL.html

An Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, TAQA, was working on this project, which

was yet to be commissioned.

VI. Failures and Inadequacies in Planning, Impact Assessment, Monitoring and

Regulatory mechanisms

EIA and Cumulative Impact Assessment Studies not taking into account the impact of tunnels: No studies are conducted as a part of the Environment Impact

Assessment process to assess the geo-hydrological impacts of the tunneling and

blasting on the water sources.

Impact of quarrying – disturbing the stability of the land: This is a common feature

evident in areas where tunnelling work is being carried out. Yet there are absolutely no

independent studies being undertaken to look into the geological fragility and the

probable impacts on villages in the alignment of the tunnel and in constructions zones.

Local people have been raising these issues in Environment Clearance Public

hearings and the standard response from project proponents, that comes from

the denial of adverse impacts of tunneling, is that the incidences of drying of

water sources and cracks in houses will be monitored and videographed.

Unfortunately niether the EIA studies nor the Cumulative Impact Assessment studie not

look at tunnel impacts in the kind of detail required. The tunnel issue should also be

studied as part of carrying capacity and river basin level impact assessment studies that

should be an important part of planning hydropower development in an ecologically and

geologically fragile region but are not being carried out.

People affected by tunnels should be treated as project affected people/families in the Rehabilitation Plans:

Since the impact of tunneling as a project activity is not studied the villages in the

alignment of the tinnel are excluded from the definition ‘project-affected’ in project

reports, environment impact assessment studies and rehabilitation plans.To ensure a fair

compensation to families affected as a result of the loss of access to water sources or the

river itself as well as for any other kind of damages caused by the construction of the

tunnel it is critical that they be recognised as project affected people in all the reports.

Further, Like in case of Karcham Wangtoo HEP the money given to IPH for alternative arrangements for making water available, is from Local Area

Development Fund (LADF) which is actually for overall development of the

project affected area and not for the mitigation measures due to impact of the

project. The amount of compensation offered for cracks in houses is measly and

there are no provisions for rebuilding or relocation for the villagers who encounter

frequent landslides, erosion and cracks that have begun to appear in their houses

as a result of the underground blasting activities.

Recently, the Himachal State Disaster Management Authority in an advisory issued to the

Public Works Department, State Electricity Board and other hydro and road project

authorities, Deputy Commissioners in the wake of tunnel collapse while carrying out the

four-laning of Kiratpur-Nerchowk on September 12, stated that National Safety Council’s

safety norms should be followed while constructing tunnels for hydro-electric projects or

carving out roads.. The advisory states that topographical, geological and hydrological

parameters will be kept in mind before selecting tunnel sites. “The construction of all

tunnels shall be done as per the standard, norms and practices of Himalayan geology

which is young and fragile and if any geological changes are observed or encountered

during construction, necessary innovative and remedial measures will be incorporated in

the design,” the advisory reads. Government agencies will be mandated to check the

ongoing tunnel construction works periodically and the designs will be vetted by them.

(http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/himachal/community/now-geological-study-a-must-

for-tunnels/151686.html)

This establishes that there is a recognition of the impacts of tunneling, however, there is

need to study whether following of “safety norms” is an adeqauate response at this stage

where the scale of the activity is so large.

Key Demands

1. Carrying Capacity Studies on the river basin should be mandatory before allocation of Hydropower Projects. Until and unless such studies are conducted

along with Cumulative Impact Studies which assess the impacts of tunneling in

cascade of projects there should be a moratorium on further construction

2. The TORs for River Valley Projects involving tunnel construction should include 'Assessing the impacts of tunnels – both ecological and socio-economic' as part of

the EIA studies

3. Tunnel Affected communities should be included in the list of Project Affected Families and should be eligible for adequate compensation

4. Until an active Authority for Safety Control is established there should be a halt on further commissioning of projects

5. Projects that are violating safety guidelines and clearance conditions should be eligible for punitive action in a timely manner after issuance of show cause

notices. Penal action, rather than imposition of fines should be initiated in case of

forest offences. Compliance monitoring mechanisms need to be strengthened to

ensure regular inspections by PCB and regional authorities

6. There should be a scientific multi discplinary study of the probable geological and hydrological ramifications of the DBM in construction of tunnels and roads in

the Himalayan region needs to be conducted.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/himachal/community/now-geological-study-a-must-for-tunnels/151686.htmlhttp://www.tribuneindia.com/news/himachal/community/now-geological-study-a-must-for-tunnels/151686.html

Documents

A CASE FOR URGENTLY ASSESSING IMPACT OF DRILLING AND BLASTING FOR CONSTRUCTION … · 2017. 3. 4. · The Drill and blast method (DBM) is the conventional tunneling method in hard