Hydropower developers are a “frustrated lot” and local people are suspicious of hydropower projects. Genuine participation of the local community in planning hydropower projects, sharing of hydropower project benefits, and grievance redressal mechanisms are key to expediting hydropower development in Uttarakhand, said Rashmi Shreshtha, a scientist with International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Kathmandu, Nepal.
She was speaking at the final workshop of the HI-NEX project, to share research outcomes and policy recommendations, in Dehradun. The HI-NEX project is a collaborative research project between University of Arizona (USA), People’s Science Institute, Dehradun, Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, University of Delhi, and ICIMOD.
Presenting an overview of the research project, university of Arizona professor and principal investigator Chris Scott elicited focus on the alarming fact that the social and environmental impacts from hydropower projects were often overlooked. “They have disproportionately greater impact on the marginalised populations,” he said.
Earlier, speaking on the occasion, former chief secretary of Uttarakhand, SK Das called for aggressive social mobilisation so that developers, government and the community can work together for hydropower development.
“Glacial melting due to climate change is leading to fragmentation of the glaciers that are the sources of the Bhilangana river. This is also leading to the formation of glacial lakes, increasing the threat of Glacial lake Outburst Floods (GlOFs) in this valley in the future,” surmised Suraj Mal of the University of Delhi. He reiterated the recommendation regarding establishment of an effective early warning system for extreme events in Uttarakhand.
The director of People’s Science Institute, Debashish Sen presented field data to show that the detrimental impacts of the hydro power projects in the Bhilangana basin were greater on the slopes where tunnels or channels had been constructed to divert water from the river to the power house. These effects included the loss of irrigated land, decrease in agricultural productivity, drying of springs and exacerbated hardship for women who gather the resources for daily sustenance for their families and cattle.
The Uttarakhand Renewable Energy Developnent Agency (UREDA) chief project officer AK Tyagi spoke about the agency’s work on electrification of remote rural areas using mini and micro hydro-power projects. He emphasised the need for specific guidelines for environmental and social impact assessment of small hydropower projects.
Responding to the presentations, Manoj Kesharwani from Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam limited (UJVNl) said that the new State policy in 2015 for hydropower development in Uttarakhand had increased the local Area Development Fund from one per cent of the approved project cost to three per cent.
The Disaster Mitigation and Management Centre (DMMC) executive director Piyoosh Rautela, Prakash Nautiyal from HNB Garhwal Central University and Malavika Chauhan of Himmothan Society among others expressed their views on the occasion.