City will be spending Rs 500 cr annually, if twin reservoirs turn devoid of purpose

Hyderabad: If the City completely shifts its dependence on Godavari and Krishna waters while completely replacing drinking water sources (the twin reservoirs of Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar) may have to spend Rs 500 crore per annum for pumping waters, as an additional 50 MW power station would be required. The ecological impact of this will be the release of 3-4 lakh tonnes of carbon dioxide per annum in air.

Scientists Dr B Ramalingeshwara Rao, Dr K Babu Rao and Prof Sagar Dhara who released the People's Scientific Committee’s joint report on ‘Repeal of GO 111’ as part of ‘Long Live Lakes campaign’ threw emphasis on monetary and ecological implications. They urged the government to avoid the problems of a typical large megapolis in Hyderabad.

As part of measures they suggested that two reservoirs be considered as ‘living beings’ with rights and responsibilities. “This could be done through a legislative act or a government resolution, which has happened earlier in India. The actor resolution would need to define the rights and responsibilities of the reservoirs, catchment areas and establish a mechanism for enforcing these rights and responsibilities,” said Sagar Dhara.

He suggested compensating farmers and farm workers in the identified area for sequestering CO2 and for crop yield losses due to Hyderabad city’s pollution. “The State government could establish a carbon sequestration compensation program for farmers and farm workers in the GO 111 area. The program could pay farmers and farm workers a per-acre fee for sequestering CO2 in their soil. The government could also provide financial assistance to farmers and farm workers who experience crop yield losses due to City’s pollution,” he added.

Baburao lamented that the State government implementing GO 111 tore the protective gear and opened the area for all sorts of activities that were prohibited. “The GO Ms 69 issued by the government in 2022 did away with all the protection afforded to the catchment area buffer zone of Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar reservoirs through GO Ms 111 of 1996,” he said.

Ramalingeshwara attributed the pleasant temperature directly to the ‘hydrostatics’ of the large water bodies and said that the cooling effect which the City is enjoying will be lost forever. “If these two reservoirs are damaged, it will not only dry out all the borewells around but will create atmospheric hazard,” he explained.

While referring to scores of nations from Europe, Asia and South America which ratified domestic ecocide laws, the scientists demanded that it was high time that India enact an act against ecocide and join the global effort to prevent this.