Interesting Project

[say]

source

"It is an extraordinary project that involves building a 64 km dam and turning a part of the Arabian Sea into a freshwater lake. It will take at least 20 years to build and if it ever gets off the ground, it will cost around Rs 50,000 crore (Rs 500 billion)."

cost : Rs 500 Billion

benefits:
2,000 sq km freshwater reservoir 5,880MW of tidal power
irrigate 1,054,500 hectares of land
reclaim 1,100 square kilometres of saline land

[oracle]

That's because it doesn't want to attract the ire of environmentalists until it has concrete evidence in hand that the project is doable - and that it's the least harmful option in environmental terms.

Environmantal impact cannot be measured in months. You can prepare the most detailed EIA but true impact of the project will bear fruit in maybe 20-30 years time. That is why the green folks don't get elected. Peolpe are impatient.

[say]

I thought the idea of turning a part of the sea into a giant lake is interesting. I always thought some day we will have to start reclaiming land from the Bay of Bengal (engineering dams and river flows). Never thought of the ocean's use in this way.

[oracle]

I always thought some day we will have to start reclaiming land from the Bay of Bengal

I am not a great fan of taming rivers, be it in India, China or Bangladesh. Prosperity is there for everyone without these mega projects which are a relic of 1950's World Bank type thinking.

[say]

I know what you mean by WB type thinking -- the big prescription type planning ..

But we don't know what the future holds for us. In 30/40 years - our GDP will be big enough to take these projects ourselvs. We are not as dependent on WB type institutions as we were before. So start thinking

[Edited on 8-3-2004 by say]