19.8.2008
Sajeewa Chamikara
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The recently initiated
‘Uma Oya Multi Purpose
Project’ appears to be another risky project
which could eventually result severe impacts to the central
hill zone. Although there are abundant examples of the damage
caused by the consecution of reservoirs are available, the
government is eagerly looking forward of implementing the
project due to the interest in funds despite the possibility
of putting the environment, agriculture, people and the
next generations to danger and making them debtors. Pre-publicity,
foundation laying and commencement of the project was carried
out expending a significant amount of money. However, laying
the foundation for the project without a proper plan, a
feasibility study or an environmental impact assessment
or any sort of permission from any relevant government agencies
can be is a serious precedence for the society.
Ministry of Irrigation and Water Management is acting as
the executing agency in implementing the project. It is
a disappointing situation to observe that this government
agency has been giving publicity and implementing the project
violating the law of environment and this undermining of
environmental law and providing wrong example to the society.
The present government has been continuously providing such
incorrect precedence undermining the environmental law and
implementing various projects to fulfill their own aspirations.
The voice of the people or the intellectuals is not being
considered. This situation was seen not only in this occasion,
but also during the issue of the International Airport Project
in Weerawila. People had to take legal action and go to
the courts against the violation of environmental law and
fundamental rights.
It was first planned to lay the foundation atone in Puhulpola
area in Welimada, which is the place where the project starts.
However, due to the strong opposition of the people in that
area who were aware of the harmful impacts, the government
had to shift the foundation laying ceremony to Alikota area
in Wellawaya, where the power house is planned to be built.
The Project Scope
The total cost of the Uma Oya Multi Purpose Project is Rs.
15,000 millions. It is expected to irrigate 25,000 acres
of paddy lands both in Uva Wellassa and Ruhuna Yala and
Maha seasons. It is planned to cultivate 12,000 acre new
land with paddy. It is further expected that this project
could provide water to the Hambantota Port, Weerawila International
Airport and Hambantota Industrial zone. The entire project
aims to solve the drinking water problems in Uva, Wellassa
and Ruhuna and also to supply sufficient water for the Lunugamwehera
Reservoir. Another major objective of the project is to
construct a 100MW power house which can be connected to
the national grid.
With all these objectives, the government has recognized
this project as the largest ever project to be implemented
in Sri Lanka after the Mahaweli Development Project. However,
it is vital to examine thoroughly whether the project can
achieve the expected results or whether it will be another
project which will devastate the environment and make the
next generation debtors.
Project Plan
Two reservoirs will be constructed by building two dams
across Puhulpola Oya and Mahatotilla Oya, two tributaries
of Uma Oya. The water accumulated in these reservoirs
will be diverted in to Southern Province. Puhulpola Oya,
which is also known as Delgolla Oya, flows from Horton
Plains, Hakgala and Bomuru Ella and it will be dammed
at Puhulpola area building a 25-acre reservoir. Mahatotilla
Oya, which flows from areas such as Balagala, Dambetenna
and Haputale, will be dammed at Dyraba area and a 10 acre
reservoir will be built there. These two reservoirs are
to be built about 2-3 km ahead of the place where the
two streams unite to Uma Oya. The two reservoirs will
be used not to store up water, but to divert water to
Southern Province. In other words, these two proposed
reservoirs of 25 and 10 acre size are not capable of storing
a large quantity of water.
The water diverted from these two reservoirs is directed
towards Wellawaya area through a 23-kilometre long tunnel
which has a diameter of 3.29 metres. The powerhouse is
proposed to be established in Alikota Ara area above the
town of Wellawaya. Water released from the power house
is released to Alokota Ara, a tributary of Kirindi Oya.
This water will be diverted by Handpanagala Anicut to
Handapanagala Wewa and to Lunugamwehera Reservoir. It
is proposed to develop a 5,000 hectare land stretch as
new paddy land along the left bank of Kirindi Oya in the
areas between Handapanagala Anicut and Lunugamwehera Reservoir.
Will Uma Oya Project be a Successful Project?
At present, water of Uma Oya has been accumulated to Rantembe
reservoir and diverted to Mahaweli C and Mahaweli B zones
including Aralaganwila according to Mahaweli Master Plan.
Hence, a further diversion of water to South could result
a serious water shortage in Mahaweli C and B zones. This
project could endanger an already developed area in the
aim of solving the water crisis of another area. It will
then be essential to provide water to meet the demand
of water in Mahaweli C and B zones by implementing another
irrigation project expending huge amounts of funds. It
is regrettable to see that this type of plans is prepared
by planners who are yes-men of politicians.
Both the southern region and the watershed of Uma Oya
receive water during the same monsoon rains, the North-East
monsoon. During these rains both Handapanagala tank and
Lunugamwehera Reservoir normally overflow after receiving
water of Kirindi Oya. Apart from this, Weheragala Project,
which diverts water of Menik Ganga to Lunugamwehera Reservoir,
is almost completed.
In such a situation, Handapanagala Tank and Lunugamwehera
reservoir do not have the capacity to store water diverted
under the proposed Uma Oya project. As both the reservoirs
to be build under the project are smaller reservoirs,
these could not store a large amount of water. Water level
of Uma Oya drops during the dry zone and it will be impossible
to provide water for Handapanagala Tank and Lunugamwehera
Reservoir. Diversion of Uma Oya water in such a situation
will be a grave injustice for the people who are cultivating
in the lower regions of Uma Oya. As the forests of the
watershed of Uma Oya are already cleared and under clearing
for cultivation water level of Uma Oya drops sharply at
the onset of the dry season. In that case the amount of
hydro power expected to generate by the new power house
and provide to the national grid will be minimum during
the dry season. Hence this highly expended project could
not be able to deliver the expected outcomes.
Watershed of Uma Oya is an area where high soil erosion
is taking place. Due to the loosening of soil for cultivation
of vegetables in areas such as Nuwara Eliya and Welimada
result this severe erosion during the rainy season. The
high amount of silt has accumulated in Rantembe reservoir
and 60% of the capacity has already got filled. In such
a situation the small reservoirs built in Uma Oya will
get filled with silt in a very short period of time. This
will make the project not capable to achieve its expected
outcomes. Although a project was implemented to conserve
the upper watershed area of Uma Oya under the Upper Watershed
Management Project implemented by the Ministry of Environment,
it was unproductive. Therefore building reservoirs in
Uma Oya without conserving the upper watershed areas of
the Uma Oya will not yield any expected results as well
as vest the damage to Handapanagala Tank and Lunugamwehera
Reservoir.
Further to that, this project will result the accumulation
of chemical residues in Handapanagala Tank and Lunugamwehera
Reservoir. The water with high chemical levels originates
from the excessive use of chemicals in vegetable plantations
in Nuwara eliya and Welimada areas. This could result
kidney disorders and other health disorders caused by
agrochemicals, of which the people in some of the Mahaweli
areas suffer at present. Based on these facts, it is obvious
that if the project is implemented without a proper feasibility
study that consider the above mentioned issues in depth
could result a waste of huge amounts of funds and make
the future generation debtors.
The Impact of the Project
The impacts of the project will be suffered by people
in three areas. It includes the people who are directly
displaced; people who live in the downstream of Uma Oya
who will suffer water shortages and the people who are
living in the areas where the earth will be made unstable
due to the tunneling process.
The areas which will be submerged from the Puhulpola and
Dyaraba reservoirs include villages such as Kotawra Udagama
and Pahalagama, Puhulpola, Hagiliella, Kebilladowa, Pahala
Mirahawatta, Matetilla and Malitta. These villages are
situated in an area where steep slopes are situated and
paddy cultivation is conducted according to terraced cultivation.
Existence of a thin layer of soil is an outstanding character
in this area and it results the occurrence of landslides
during the rainy seasons. Landslides are being observed
by us even in the areas selected to construct the reservoirs.
After the construction of the reservoirs, the soils from
landslides will be accumulated to the reservoirs. This
trend could further increase due to the unstabilised nature
of soil layers caused by the boring and blasting carried
out during the dam building and tunnel making process.
This situation directly affects the capacity of these
reservoirs. Building dams in Welimada area without thinking
about these impacts could be a waste of money.
There is a serious shortage of drinking water and a shortage
of irrigation water in the areas associated with Puhulpola
Oya and Matetilla Oya and Uma Oya. People of the area
suffer from these water problems for a long time and they
were expecting politicians to implement various water
projects. However, none of these problems have been solved
yet. In such a situation, diversion of water to Southern
Province is a violation of fundamental rights of the people
of Uma Oya area. The majority of the people in the area
oppose the Uma Oya project. Some people support the project
as they will be able to obtain a job in the project and
to earn their living as they do not have sufficient water
for agriculture. This was the reason for a large number
of people from Welimada participated in this year’s
May Day rally organized by the government held in Dehiattakandiya.
Applications for jobs in Uma Oya Project are available
for sale in shops in Welimada and surrounding villages.
Social problems in the area are the key cause for this
situation. Instead of solving their problems, any effort
taken to divert water to other areas could cause the residents
further suppression.
People believe that the proposed drinking water project
in Matetilla Oya area could also be affected by the Uma
Oya Multi Purpose Project. There will be limited amounts
of water available for the downstream areas of Uma Oya
after the damming of Uma Oya in Puhulpola and Dyaraba
areas. Specially areas such as Udaperuwa, Hawelagama,
Galpaditenna, Weliarawa, Diyakole, Pahaminitota, Horatota,
Deegalla Pallegama, Panakanniya, Mahakumbura, Mdeipokuna,
Bamgarapana, Hatkinda, Maswatta, Wetalawa, Galaniha, Yalagamuwa,
Beramada, Mudagamuwa, and Bathmedilla will be affected.
This will have a serious effect on the groundwater level
of the areas on left and right banks of Uma Oya. This
could negatively affect the drinking and irrigation water
supplies of the areas. Specially, irrigation projects
such as Matetilla Oya Project, Bakmedilla Project and
Minipe Project could suffer a water shortage due to diversion
of Uma Oya water to the Southern region.
The proposed project aims to build a massive tunnel which
is 23km in length and 3.29metres in width to carry water
to the powerhouse. This tunnel will be build across several
mountain ridges. Number of areas could be affected with
landslides and lowered groundwater levels due to the construction
of this tunnel. These include Dyaraba, Balatota Ella,
Koskanuwela, Dikkapitiya, Malwatta, Malitta, Demodera,
Halpe, Kitalella, Rawana Ella, Karandagolla, Ella town
and Ambatennegama areas.
Adverse effects such as soil layers being turned unstable
and lowering of ground water level could be resulted from
the boring and blasting operations during the tunnel making
process. The unstable soil layers could cause landslides
during the rainy season. This process was observed in
areas such as Victoria, Randenigala etc during the recent
years. It was obvious that the cause for the situation
in those areas were the tunneling carried out. Government
plans to build a massive tunnel placing settlements and
agricultural lands in serious dangers while previous experiences
are available is not an approvable situation. Planning
without a correct feasibility study is a step to put the
whole hill zone in to danger.
When we consider the above facts it is clear that four
Divisional Secretariat divisions are impacted by this
project, namely Hali Ela, Uva Paranagama, Bandarawela
and Welimada DS divisions. Hence there should be a proper
feasibility study carried out to identify the feasibility
of implementing the project. Further to that, proper written
approval should be gained from environmental authorities
after conducting an environmental impact assessment (EIA)
which is essential according to the environmental law
in Sri Lanka.
Resettling the displaced - where?
The people displaced due to the proposed project are to
be re-settled in Handapanagala area. It is proposed to
provide highland and paddy land for these people. This
is due to the lack of sufficient highland or paddy land
in or around Welimada area. This is an awful situation.
It could take years to the community to get familiarize
with the environmental conditions of that novel area,
where the climate is not familiar to them. It will take
more time to get familiar with the crop patterns and land
preparation techniques and to convert the new area suitable
to cultivation in these new areas. This time period could
be about 5 to 10 years. These development refugees could
suffer from serious problems and setback during this period.
It should be thought twice of this type of situation are
justifiable.
Violation of environmental law
According to the Gazette bearing the number 772/22 and
dated 24th June 1993, a pre-written environmental approval
is required after conducting an environmental impact assessment
(EIA) report for projects such as river valley development
and irrigation projects, construction of powerhouses with
a capacity over 50MW and for any type of tunnel constructions.
Although Uma Oya Multi Purpose Project contains actions
which contains phases which come under these legal provisions,
the foundation stone was laid violating all these legal
regulations.
Further to this, a large amount of land will be cleared
in the area where the people will be resettled in Uva
Wellassa areas. Under the above mentioned gazette notification
under National Environmental Act, it is essential to obtain
approval after an environmental impact assessment (EIA),
when a land stretch more than 1 hectare is used for purposes
other than forest related and when an area more than 50
hectares is being cleared. A loss of national funds is
the result of laying the foundation stone without having
a feasibility study and environmental impact assessment
in a project of this scale. It is worth to question whether
it is justifiable to waste public funds in a situation
where there is a need to solve various needs of people
including infrastructure development and rising inflation.
It is further regrettable to notice the silence of Jathika
Hela Urumaya, the political party which is having the
Ministry of Environment, who lead towards a Dharma Rajjaya
in the present situation where politicians take decisions
without considering the laws and regulations, people’s
lives and country’s resources.
Central Environmental Authority is the authoritative agency
established under the National Environmental act, which
has the powers act on these violations of environmental
act. It is a grave situation to see that the Authority
is unable to act on the violation of environmental law
by the Uma Oya Project. Although the Authority is performs
under the advice of leading environmental activists, it
is in a firm silence in front of the political power.
It is doubtful that whether the agency is capable of implementing
law in case of violation of environmental law by the private
sector.
This project is said to be the largest ever project implemented
after the Mahaweli Multi Purpose Project. Government of
Iran is providing a loan for this project and an agreement
was signed recently. The project is planned to be completed
within 4 years and the loan is to be paid back within
a 20-year period which includes a 5-year grace period.
Although the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Management
said that the services of local engineers will be obtained
in planning and construction phases of the project, the
government of Iran has vested the power of construction
to an Iranian company, named FARAB. This company is the
chief contractor. They have agreed to obtain the services
of local engineers and draftsmen. This will result a return
of a considerable amount of funds of the loan back to
Iran through the company. Sri Lankans will be debtors
for these funds and will have to pay it. Then what would
be the final results of the project? It could be a huge
environmental damage and serious social problems. We wish
that the politicians, planners and government officials
will soon understood the factual situation of the Uma
Oya Multi Purpose Project.
Prepared by – Sajeewa Chamikara
Sri Lanka Nature
Forum 546/ 3, Wata Mawatha Gangodawila Nugegoda Sri Lanka.
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