Around 21 major hydropower projects are proposed in the upper Satluj catchment area of Himachal Pradesh. In 2013, The Environics Trust collaborated with Himalaya Niti Abhiyan to assess the impact of these projects on the people and ecology of the geographically-fragile Kinnaur region. We talk to R Sreedhar of Environics Trust about the findings of the study and future course of action.
What are the main points of your study on hydropower projects in the upper Satluj basin ?
The key issues the report is highlighting are as follows:
- Rivers should be studied and activities planned in a holistic manner considering the entire basin with a participatory approach seeking explicit inputs from local communities.
- Himalayan river systems are unique and changes in the upper watersheds will have major ramifications downstream.
- Himalayas are extremely vulnerable to earthquakes and other natural calamities and construction of hydropower projects adds to their vulnerability.
- The system of analysis and promotion of projects and their appraisal is neither scientific nor ethical.
- Governments and corporates are going for increasing their revenue and profits at a huge risk to the communities.
Governments and developers often term run-of-river pojects as comparatively benign. What has been the experience in Kinnaur?
Seismic activity and weather variability are two major factors mostly sighted to underscore the vulnerability of Kinnaur and the non-feasibility of hydel projects but that also raises a question as to why developers are willing to risk their investments, doesn't it?
How has the work on compensation and rehabilitation of people and ecological restoration progressed for projects already in operation or construction?
What has been the response of people from Kinnaur to the projects? Would you say it's mixed as many may see them as harbingers of 'development', or have they now understood the harmful ecological and social impacts?
How do you think out migration from Kinnaur alters local aspirations and connection with ecology?
How have the government and private developers reacted to this report?
Department of Energy (DoE), Government of Himachal Pradesh (GoHP) has also done the Cumulative Environmental Impact Assessment (CEIA) Study of Hydropower Projects in the Sutlej basin. How is it different from your report?
What is your next plan of action?
This report talks about the upper Satluj basin. Are you planning to cover the whole basin subsequently?
See the full study report.