As the June sun shines bright, River Godavari laps up against the banks of Nathsagar in Paithan, Maharashtra. Chhaya Subhash Kuchir ambles out of her bamboo home to survey her catch.
It is late morning. She returned from her fishing expedition five hours ago. “In the evening I lower the net and I pull it out at 5 am the next morning,” she says. Her catch of 5 to 6 kilos of tilapia fish fetches her an average of Rs.20 to Rs.30 a kilo every day. This is hardly enough to sustain her household and her son’s medical expenses: Nitin, 28, has a disability in his right hand.
Soon, the lapping water from the reservoir will be covered with swathes of photovoltaic panels, as part of the proposed Jayakwadi floating solar power project, sounding the death knell to the livelihoods of traditional fishers such as Chhaya, who foresees a steep decline in catch and income.
The concerns of the fishing community are not unfounded. If the project by NTPC becomes operational, nearly two lakh artisanal fishers from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district (previously Aurangabad), whose only income is fishing, will be rendered unemployed and homeless.
The multipurpose Jayakwadi dam, the largest constructed on the Godavari, is 10 km long and has a height of about 41 metres. On an average, six fishers catch 30 kilos of fish, which fetches them a total of Rs.300-400 every day. “If we divide this between six families, how will we eat?” asks Kusum Kete, a fisherwoman who does not know her age.
Kusumtai Kete, sitting beside her fishing net outside her makeshift house in one of the settlements in Paithan. | Photo Credit: Mitul Kajaria
Chhaya, too, is vague about her age and blames this on her lack of literacy. She is, however, able to trace the events in her life by the tragedies dotting it, such as her husband’s death, her son’s disability, and her youngest child succumbing to illness. She recalls a time 15 years ago when there was abundant fish and no family went hungry.
“There was always enough fish for all fishers. While they are not well-educated, their income was good,” says Kishore Pathak, the honorary wildlife warden of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
Suffocation of aquatic life
Scientists believe that an accidental introduction of the invasive fish species—Tilapia mossambica—into the reservoir resulted in the decline of other fish species. “There were initially 85 species of native fish, now there are only 10 or 12 remaining as tilapia feast on the eggs of other fishes,” explains Dilip Birute, a naturalist and a professor at Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University. The villagers also explain that the water level in the reservoir has reduced; they have got accustomed to relocating their self-constructed, tarpaulin settlements to accommodate the changing shoreline.
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The Nathsagar Jalashay (reservoir), formed by the Jayakwadi dam, is 55 km long and covers an area of over 350 sq km. While it fills up every year, the water recedes in no time, leaving only 25 per cent of it in dead storage. “Today, the situation is such that there is only 5 per cent of water. Even if the reservoir is at full capacity, the water comes up only to your knees,” says Bajrang Limbore, president of the “Protect Jayakwadi Fisherpeople” committee. The water is deep only at the centre of the reservoir, which means Chhaya and her peers have to set out more than 5 km into the water on their makeshift thermocol boats to cast their diaphanous nets. The thin nets, the fisherwomen claim, often get entangled due to gusty winds, resulting in the loss of a day’s entire catch. And sometimes, the winds topple their boats, endangering their lives.
The NTPC project is the brainchild of MP and Union Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad. Karad has claimed that the solar panels will occupy 7,500 hectares, or 21 per cent of the total reservoir area. But Limbore believes the project will need at least 30 per cent of the water body, and he claims that the panels will be laid at the centre of the reservoir, where fishers primarily fish. He says this is the area where water accumulates the most, the part of the reservoir that never empties out, even in summer when the water recedes.
“If the water body is teeming with aquatic life, then the coverage [by the panels] should not be more than 10-15 per cent,” says Arun Kumar, professor at the department of hydro and renewable energy, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee. This is recommended by various international bodies, says Kumar while referencing Germany’s mandate of using only 15 per cent of its artificial lakes to set up projects. “And as the panels will be laid without a gap, the organisms that generally come up for oxygen will not be able to do so and will die,” Limbore says.
National Green Tribunal assesses project’s ‘eco-sensitivity’
If there are no fish, this will also reduce the number of migratory and native birds from the adjacent sanctuary. “With no place to roost, the food chain will be destroyed,” he says.
The staunch opposition to the floating solar power project began when the area was surveyed seven months ago. “There are 55 gram panchayats around the reservoir, and they passed a resolution stating that they do not want the project,” Limbore says.
Early 2024 saw scores of fishing communities marching to the District Collector’s office, demanding that the project be scrapped. The fishers received a written assurance from the Collector that a meeting would be held between them and elected representatives. The Collector was subsequently transferred.
A view of the Jayakwadi dam. | Photo Credit: Mitul Kajaria
Acting on an application filed by the Kahar Samaj Panch Committee, a registered trust representing fishermen, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) this year has sought a report from the Union Environment Ministry and the State forest department to determine whether the proposed project falls within the eco-sensitive zone notified along the periphery of the dam.
As per a gazette notification issued on July 12, 2017, the area is protected under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The NGT-mandated report will also evaluate if the project counts as a “permissible activity” and if it can damage the environment or pollute the reservoir.
In April 2022, the State water resources department wrote to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy stating that according to the revenue and forest department’s 1986 notification, the Jayakwadi reservoir is a prohibited area, and the government of Maharashtra cannot give permission to NTPC for assessment studies to set up a floating solar power project.
“The birds feed on fish, crabs, and water spiders,” says Limbore. There were 242 recorded bird species, out of which 80 were migratory, and so the region was declared a sanctuary. Villagers and experts believe this project will have a massive impact on the biodiversity of the region.
‘Floating solar power projects’ across India
When solar panels are stacked on a stagnant water body such as the Nathsagar reservoir, Pathak believes it will lead to eutrophication, a process wherein the excessive growth of algae in the water depletes oxygen.
Kusum also says that the quality of water will deteriorate. “Our forefathers caught fish, our children will catch fish, this is our tradition; where do we fix our nets when the project is installed?” she asks.
Bajrang Limbore, 39, of the “Protect Jayakwadi Fisherpeople” committee reads the response to an RTI petition the committee filed regarding the allotment of land and water body for the floating solar project in the Jayakwadi reservoir. | Photo Credit: Mitul Kajaria
In November 2022, Karad, who has twice served as the Mayor of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, claimed that the current ruling alliance spearheaded by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has given the nod to the project. Karad backs the project, claiming that it will provide electricity to lakhs of farmers. In 2022, he wrote to the Central government seeking permission to launch the floating solar power project. Earlier this year, he also wrote to the State forest department seeking the denotification of the reservoir as a bird sanctuary.
Maharashtra is not the only State that has jumped onto the floating solar projects bandwagon. Bids have been invited for setting up floating solar power projects across Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Jharkhand, Bihar, and West Bengal, despite local communities’ protests. Since 2020, the Solar Energy Corporation of India has floated seven tenders for these projects.
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Although floating solar projects cost 15-20 per cent more than rooftop and ground-mounted projects, they score when it comes to land acquisition, both in terms of availability of contiguous parcels and their cost.
Much like Jayakwadi, another floating solar power project in Madhya Pradesh has robbed fishers of their livelihood and evicted them from their homes. Touted as India’s largest floating solar project, the plant was built on the backwaters of the Omkareshwar dam, where panels were laid on fishing areas.
Chhaya and Kusum fear that their homes will be taken over once the project becomes operational. “We do not have farms, the dam is our farm.”
Mitul Kajaria is an award-winning photographer, curator, and educator with a background in architecture. He is currently training in psychology and psychodrama. Pragathi Ravi is an independent journalist writing at the intersection of climate justice, energy transitions, and natural resource governance. She acknowledges the support of Internews’ Earth Journalism Network.
