Himalayan hydro on hold
In a judgement with far-reaching consequences, India’s Supreme Court on Tuesday put a moratorium on the construction of new hydroelectric dams in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand.
The region witnessed unusually heavy rain and catastrophic floods and landslides in mid-June that left more than 5,000 people dead or missing. Some ecologists and geologists suggested that a proliferation of dams and hydroelectric projects was in part to blame for exacerbating the effects of the monsoon.
The court’s findings reflected those concerns, describing the “mushrooming of a large number of hydroelectric projects in Uttarakhand” and their impact on the basins of the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers, the two major tributaries that merge to form the Ganges River.
http://blogs.nature.com/news/2013/08/indian-court-halts-projects-in-wake-of-calamitous-monsoon.html