The Wainganga River as seen from the town of Bhandara. A 16 percent dip in the water availability of its basin is expected because of the thermal power plants.
The reasons for this unrelenting agrarian crisis are complex and multifold – uncertain rainfall, inadequate irrigation, inefficient government functionaries and rising cost of farming is turning agriculture increasingly unsustainable in the region. In March 2012, I accompanied a team that was investigating a significant reason that was contributing to the farmers’ woes in the region – the inequitable distribution of water between the farmers and coal-based thermal power plants in the region.
Vidarbha seems to be an ideal place to set up a thermal power plant because of cheap land prices, a favourable state water policy and proximity to the coal blocks of Chhattisgarh. As of December 2010, 71 thermal power plants were in various stages of approval in the Vidarbha region alone, collectively representing 55 GW of power.
A map of the thermal power plants in Vidarbha. (Source: Tehelka, Sept 2012)
Coal-fired thermal power plants require enormous quantities of water to run, highest consumption across any industrial sector. The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) observes that an average coal-fired plant in India requires about 5-7 cubic metres of water per MW/hour, and is far less efficient than those in other countries. The newer plants are slightly better, utilizing 3.5-4 cubic metres of water per MW/hour.
Inland thermal power plants are dependent on fresh water from rivers and irrigation reservoirs and thus deprive farmers of water meant for irrigation. Between 2008-2009, the Maharashtra government diverted 41% of irrigation water from the Upper Wardha dam for the use of thermal power plants.
A study conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, assessed the present and future implications on the Wardha River placed on it by the thermal power plants in the region. The study observed that the proposed thermal plants would require 1.7 billion cubic metres of water per year – enough to irrigate more than 410,000 hectares of farmland. Subsequently the water level in the Wardha River basin would drop by 40 percent and by 16 percent in the Wainganga River basin.
The Vidarbha farmers grow cotton, oranges and soya along with traditional crops such as rice, sorghum and bajra. However about 80% of the farming is dependent on rainfall, which is often uncertain and ill-timed.
In May 2012, Rohana village in Bhandara district was denotified from the command area of the Bawanthadi interstate irrigation project to benefit the upcoming project of the Bhandara Thermal Power Corporation. Agriculture and dairy are the main occupation of the approximately 2,200 residents here. The entire agricultural land of the village is under irrigation and the village has never been affected by droughts. The acquisition for the project has now been stopped because of more and more farmers resolving not to part with their land for the project.
— Shrikrishna Kalamb (Vidarbha’s farmer-poet, two days before he took his life)