This paper critically examines some narratives of water scarcity in Kutch, western India. It argues that images of dwindling rainfall and increasing drought largely serve to legitimize the controversial Sardar Sarovar dam and manufacture dominant perceptions concerning scarcity. This manufacture has naturalized scarcity in the region and largely benefits powerful actors such as politicians, industrialists and large farmers. But the needs of the poor in water-limited areas are neglected.

The basin area of the Ganges river in Bangladesh is extremely dependent on a regular water supply from upstream to meet requirements for agriculture, fisheries, navigation, salinity control, domestic and industrial sectors. In 1975 India commissioned a barrage on the Ganga river at Farakka to divert significant portion of the dry season flow in order to make the Calcutta port navigable.

This article discusses how the Sardar Sarovar Dam in India is a case of a development project which causes environmental displacement on a massive scale. This occurs through the impairment of livelihoods by environmental changes. The problems of resettlement and rehabilitation are emphasized in the article as are further displacement effects due to this process. The inequality between development beneficiaries and those who must bear the majority of the development costs is also addressed.

An integrated approach to energy planning, when applied to large hydroelectric projects, requires that the energy-opportunity cost of the land submerged under the reservoir be incorporated into the planning methodology.