Context

• China has approved a $137 billion project to build the world's largest dam on the Brahmaputra River near the Indian border in Tibet.

About Mega Project

• It is set to be built in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River, the Tibetan name for Brahmaputra.
• is to be built at a huge gorge in the Himalayan reaches where the Brahmaputra river makes a huge U-turn (Namcha Barwa) to flow into Arunachal Pradesh and then to Bangladesh.
• It is set to be the planet's biggest infra project costing $137 billion.
• Project site is located along a tectonic plate boundary where earthquakes occur.
• It is likely to generate income of $3 billion annually for the Tibet Autonomous Region.

Concerns for India

• Dam will empower China to control the water flow.
• It can also enable Beijing to release large amounts of water flooding border areas in times of hostilities.
• India also plans to build a dam over the Brahmaputra in Arunachal Pradesh.

Major Dams in India

• Bhakra Nangal Dam (Himachal Pradesh and Punjab) on Satluj River: India's largest Dam
• Hirakud Dam (Orissa) on Mahanadi River: Longest dam in India
• Nagarjuna Sagar Dam (Telangana) on Krishna River: India's largest Masonry Dam
• Tehri Dam (Uttarakhand) on Bhagirathi River : India's Highest Dam
• Nagarjuna Sagar Dam (Telangana) on Krishna River: India's largest Masonry Dam
• Kallanai Dam (Tamil Nadu) on Kaveri River: India's oldest Dam

Additional info:

• India and China established the Expert Level Mechanism (ELM) in 2006 to discuss various issues related to trans-border rivers under which China provides India with hydrological information on the Brahmaputra river and Sutlej river during the flood seasons.
• Largest dam in the world: Three Gorges Dam (China)