Dams are cause of migration of peoples.Service Secor is best for providing emplyment instead of Hydro-Power Projects
Migration form the hills is taking place because of hill agriculture having become uncompetitive with the plains. The hydropower projects are adding to the pain by causing submergence of agricultural lands, deterioration in the quality of river water, loss of grazing in the forests, landslide and earthquakes, increase incidence of water-borne diseases, loss of sand from the river, and loss of tourism.
The local community is given employment in construction of hydropower projects but only for a short time. After that they face unemployment. Additionally they have lost their lands to the project. Thus, they are forced to flee.
The objective of Hydro-electric Power Project is economic growth by generation of electricity. Instead we must consider promoting growth through the services sector like education, health, tourism, software, herbal parks can be built on the hills, large nurseries can be made, drug testing centers can be established, many gardens of forests and flowers can be developed. This will not create the negative impacts enumerated above.
The manufacturing sector requires high electricity consumption which then becomes the trigger for establishing hydropower projects, which are destroying the Ganga. Whereas in service sector, less electricity is consumed. According to a report by Dr. Bharat Jhunjhunwala, Former Professor, Indian Institute of Bengaluru, one percent increase in growth requires 1.48% increase in electricity consumption if the growth comes from the manufacturing sector. The same one percent growth requires only an increase of 0.15% in electricity consumption if it comes from the services sector.(Report is attached here) table 1.2
Further, the future lies in the services sector. The share of services sector is growing rapidly while share of manufacturing is growing very slowly.
We can see above that 9.2 lakh jobs have been created in the service sector while there is a decrease in employment of 1.4 lakh in the manufacturing sector. Thus services sector will create jobs and help prevent migration.
Service sector will provide employment and will to less requirement of electricity and remove the need to damage our rivers for hydropower. It will create sustainable growth and employment
We urge to Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, to promote the services sector and abandon the policy of damaging the rivers for hydropower.
