Re: Capitalism is for everyone

["Prof. R. Jagadiswara Rao" <ric@nettlinx.com>]

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Yogesh Upadhyay wrote:

I fail to understand why Indian state is so keen on
building dams when the first world is demolishing
the existing dams, knowing the tremendous damages
it causes. More so, when there are strong statistical
evidences of most dams in India irrigating only a
miniscule fraction of land they claimed to irrigate,
creating very small quantities of hydel power,
and having detrimental effect on the ecosystems.

My comments:
I substantiate the correctness of the above statement by citing
the example of Andhra Pradesh, which has spent since 1956
around Rs. 6,000 crores towards construction of major and
medium irrigation reservoirs and around Rs. 600 crores
towards constuction of minor irrigation reservoirs. As a result,
the net land under major projects has increased from 13 lakh
ha to a maximum of 19 lakh ha by 1989-90 and thereafter
decreased to 16 lakh ha, while the net land under minor
projects increased from 12 lakh ha to a maximum of
around 15 lakh ha in 1964-65 and thereafter decreased to
10 lakh ha.

Despite this poor performance, everybody wants these projects
to come in their area to get some benefit or other from the huge
expenditure made. Even the people who might lose land get
initially some compensation for their lands and later manage to
remain in their own lands by stalling the dam construction
through the help of environmentalists. What Morarji Desai told
in 1961 is no longer valid now. People are now wiser and
know how to resist from being drowned.

R. Jagadiswara Rao


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