Banduri canal diversion plan an ecological disaster, says report

Hubballi:   The proposed Banduri nala diversion project, part of the Mahadayi river diversion project is untenable in the long term and can open up serious possibilities of advancing the desertification process of north Karnataka and Malaprabha basin, says a report by Save North Karnataka Citizens’ Alliance.

‘A comprehensive report on Banduri nala project and desertification of North Karnataka’ - prepared by scientists, researchers and experts from Belagavi, Dharwad, Gadag, Bengaluru, Pune, Delhi, Hyderabad and other parts of the country, says the project violates environmental laws like Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, Forest Conservation Act, 1980 and Environment Protection Act, 1986.

The report highlights that water awarded for diversion (2.18 tmc ft of water) at the cost of irreparable damage to forest, irreversible ecological losses and burden on the state exchequer overweighs the cost to benefit ratio.

The central water commission has given its technical clearance to the modified detailed project report (DPR) submitted by the Karnataka government to draw 3.9 tmc ft of water, out of which 2.18 tmc ft of water needs to be lifted from Banduri nala and 1.72 tmc ft from Kalasa nala.

Final nod awaited

As the Goa government has approached the Supreme Court challenging the verdict of the Mahadayi water dispute tribunal, the apex court has asked Karnataka to get all necessary clearances before proceeding. Karnataka is awaiting final approval under the Forest Protection Act from the union government.  

The report has been prepared based on government data and scientific analysis of research works of institutions like Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, IIT-Bombay, ISRO, IMD, MoEF&CC, ATREE, CEC, BARC (Punjab), Sacon, WRI and KSNDMA.

The report says there are scientific studies to show that stream diversions in forested headwater catchments have cascading effects such as forest degradation, impact on water cycle, desertification, microclimate change and social-economic disruption.

The report claims that diversion of Banduri nala could reduce evapotranspiration (decreased cloud formation and reduced precipitation), resulting in land drier effect and disruption of rainfall patterns.

Streams in danger

Eminent scientists, forest officials, hydrologists and others, who have co-authored the report, say that in the long term, it could result in perennial streams becoming seasonal.

“Agriculture systems can collapse, reduce water quality and increase temperature,” says the report.

Quoting ISRO’s 2021 report — Desertification and land degradation, Atlas—Alliance says Karnataka already ranks fifth nationally under significant land degradation (6.96 million ha of land) and diversion of land for Banduri project could risk further forest degradation and irreversible ecological decline.

“Reaching of freshwater of Mahadayi to Zuari estuaries in Goa is crucial for preventing saline intrusion from Arabian Sea and sustaining brackish-water ecosystems. Water diversion will raise salinity at estuaries, have cascading impact on monsoon and cause regional climate destabilization,” it says.

Terming the project ‘another Yettinahole in the making’, experts suggest that there are several cost-effective and ecologically viable alternatives to river diversion.