IMPORTANCE OF HYDRO- POWER IN INDIA AND OTHER COUNTRIES OF THE REGION

摘要

Hydro-electric power is a renewable, environmentally benign, nonpolluting and economic source of energy. India is endowed by nature with enormous economically developable hydro-power potential.. Many other countries of her region too are similarly blessed. India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and the Tibet region of China share the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna river basin, which is one of the highest hydro-power potential regions of the world. The Indus basin shared by India and her neighbours too possesses significant hydro power potential. However, it is most unfortunate that the per capita energy consumption in the countries of the region is among the lowest in the world. The region is really one of the least developed parts of the world. With all the advantages given by nature, development of hydro-power is not progressing, as it should have. Not merely that. The share of hydro-power is continually declining during the last four decades. What are the constraints which have affected hydro development? Can these be overcome? There is an urgent need to examine this paradoxical situation, particularly in view of the of the present trend to emphasize importance of green power. World over, energy consumption provides a fair index of a nation's level of development and standard of living. The GBM region's consumption of energy is, however, markedly low. The countries of the region are variously endowed with energy resources: Nepal, Bhutan and India have very considerable hydel potentials. India has plentitude of coal and some oil and gas in the Northeast. Bangladesh could be poised to become a major gas producer. The imports of fossil fuel are constrained by the availability of foreign exchange. Overall, however, the region is still critically dependent on non-commercial energy sources, mainly fuel wood from depleting forests and agricultural residues. This is not a sustainable situation, especially in view of the growing energy demands of a rising population.