·The Hindu·15 marks·250–350 words

Hydroelectricity shaped early industrialisation in South India. Discuss its economic and environmental legacy.

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In this answer
  1. Economic legacy
  2. Environmental legacy

South India had little coal, so it industrialised on falling water. The princely state of Mysore commissioned the Sivasamudram station on the Kaveri in 1902 [1]. That started a path built on hydel power. Its economic legacy is clearly positive, while its environmental legacy is mixed.

Economic legacy

  • Anchor industry: Sivasamudram's first major buyer was the Kolar Gold Fields, reached by a 147-km transmission line [1]. A large paying customer justified the investment.
  • Urban base: power reached Bengaluru in 1905 and Mysuru in 1907 [2]. This laid the base for their later industrial growth.
  • Capacity-led expansion: capacity grew in stages from 3,600 kW to 42,000 kW by 1938 [1]. In 1926, Mysore ordered estimates for supplying Seringapatam, Yedatore and Nanjangad. Supply would come only once the new Sivasamudram installation was complete [4]. Generation came before wires.
  • Regional spread: the Madras Presidency followed in the 1930s with the Pykara scheme in the Nilgiris [3]. This took hydel power across the south.
  • Uneven reach: industry and cities were served first. The mufassal towns waited years after their petitions [4]. The gap persists: average rural supply rose only from 12.5 to 18.5 hours a day between 2014-15 and 2019-20 [5]. About 53% of villages got under 12 hours of household power in 2018 [6].

Environmental legacy

  • Clean start: Sivasamudram is a run-of-the-river plant [1]. It generates power without burning coal or needing a large reservoir, an early model of renewable energy.
  • Contested river: later storage projects and rising demand made the Kaveri an inter-state flashpoint. Tamil Nadu opposes Karnataka's Mekedatu reservoir, and the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) has not reached consensus on it [7].
  • Ecological costs: large storage dams in general flood forests, displace communities and change downstream flows for farmers and ecosystems.

Hydropower gave coal-poor South India an early lead in industry and cities. However, the hinterland gained late, and several states now claim the same river. The way forward is reliable 24x7 rural supply, small hydro and pumped storage paired with solar, and basin-level cooperation through the CWMA. This serves SDG 7 (affordable, clean energy) while protecting the Kaveri's ecology.

Sources

  1. 1Shivasamudram Power House, Karnataka Power Corporation Limited: commissioned 1902; 3,600 kW grown to 42,000 kW by 1938; run-of-the-river on the Cauvery; 147-km line to Kolar Gold Fields
  2. 2History, Government of Karnataka: Sivasamudram power reached Bengaluru (1905) and Mysuru (1907)
  3. 3History, TANGEDCO: Pykara hydro-electric scheme commissioned in the 1930s
  4. 4Electric lighting for the Mufassal ("100 years ago"), *The Hindu*, 5 Nov 2026, p. 9: in 1926 Mysore ordered estimates for supply to Seringapatam, Yedatore and Nanjangad once the new Sivasamudram installation was complete; the towns had petitioned years earlier
  5. 5Average Rural Power Supply Duration Increased from 12.5 Hours in 2014-15 to 18.5 Hours in 2019-20, PIB: rural supply hours
  6. 6Overview of the Power Sector, PRS Legislative Research (2019): about 53% of villages got under 12 hours of household power in 2018
  7. 7Mekedatu multi purpose project, PIB: Tamil Nadu's opposition; no CWMA consensus on the project report

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