Chapter 3 · Question 3
What problems are associated with large dams?
Answer
Direct Answer
Large dams can displace people, submerge forests and farms, disturb river ecology, trap silt, increase conflicts over water sharing, and sometimes cause waterlogging and salinity in command areas. Their benefits and costs are often distributed unequally.
Simple Explanation
Dams displace communities, submerge forests and farmland, disturb rivers, trap silt, trigger water conflicts, and may cause waterlogging and salinity, with unequal distribution of costs and benefits.
Exam-Ready Structure
Large dams, despite their benefits, create significant ecological and social problems:
Social problems:
• Displacement: Large numbers of people, especially tribal and rural communities, lose their land, homes, and livelihoods. Resettlement and rehabilitation are often inadequate.
• Inadequate compensation: Displaced people may not receive fair compensation or alternative livelihood support.
Ecological problems:
• Submergence of forests and farmland: Reservoirs flood large areas of natural habitat and productive agricultural land.
• Disturbance to river ecology: Dams alter natural river flow, affecting fish migration, sediment transport, and downstream ecosystems.
• Silt trapping: Sediment that would naturally flow downstream and enrich floodplains gets trapped behind the dam, reducing reservoir capacity over time.
• Waterlogging and salinity: In command areas, over-irrigation from canal water can raise the water table, causing waterlogging and bringing salts to the surface.
Conflicts:
• Inter-state water disputes: States sharing a river often disagree over water allocation from dams.
• Unequal distribution: The benefits (electricity, irrigation) often go to urban and industrial users, while the costs (displacement, lost livelihoods) are borne by rural, poor, and tribal communities.
Key Points
- Large dams can displace people, submerge forests and farms, disturb river ecology, trap silt, increase conflicts over water sharing, and sometimes cause waterlogging and salinity in command areas.
- Their benefits and costs are often distributed unequally.
Relevant Maps and Figures
Multipurpose River Valley Projects Overview
diagram
Use the same project frame to contrast intended benefits with ecological and social costs.
It helps explain why large dams remain contested despite their planned uses.
This chapter sequence groups irrigation, hydroelectricity, flood control, navigation, fisheries, and water supply under one project idea.
Answer Sources
- Problems linked to large damstextbook section | Contemporary India-II | Water Resources | Multi-purpose projects and resistance | Pages 5-6