HYDROELECTRIC PROJECTS AND LIVELIHOOD ISSUES

OF TRIBALS: A CASE STUDY OF KINNAUR DISTRICT OF

THE HIMALAYAN STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH, INDIA

By Renuka Thapliyal and Manoj Jreat

Introduction •Power is taken as major potential for accelerating

the rate of socio-economic development and long

term financial security of state by the Himachal

Pradesh Government

•The expansion of hydropower in Himachal Pradesh

is taking place at an unprecedented pace in recent

years

•A number of hydel projects have grown in the state

without local residents’ support and involvement

•This has led to unrest and protests against hydel

projects in districts like Kinnaur and has raised a

question about the existence of these projects

Study Area (Kinnaur) •The district is located in the North

Eastern part of Himachal Pradesh

bordering The Republic of China

•Area 6401 sq km about (11.5%)

of the state

•Altitudes range from 1500 m to

more than 6500 m above mean sea

level

•Major part of the district is

drained by the river Satluj

•Population of 84,298 persons

•Density 13 persons per sq km

Status of Hydro Power in Himachal Pradesh

– Himachal Pradesh has five river basins i.e., Yamuna,

Sutlej, Beas, Ravi and Chenab

– The identified potential is 20463.5 MW out of this

only 6066.00 MW has been exploited till now

– Till 31 March 2011, the state had 498 projects in

various stages of planning and implementation

– Of these, major hydro power projects are located in

the Satluj basin of Kinnaur district which accounts

for 9728.25 MW hydropower potential

Hydro Power

Project

Status Capacity

MW

Trees felled/

damaged

Forest /Agricultural

area

Diverted in Hectares

Baspa-2 C 300 5471 44.179

Nathpa-Jhakri C 1500 10759 147.50

Bhabha C 120 76 0.98

Karcham -

Wangtoo

C 1000 11277 496.61

Sorang UC 100 206 19.17

Tidong-1 UC 60 6666 39.04

Kashang-1 UC 66 591 34

Total 3146 35046 781.479

HYDRO POWER PROJECTS IN KINNAUR

C= commissioned, UC = under construction Source: Forest Dept. Shimla H.P.

Methodology

Exploratory interviews with the selected

stakeholders

Field survey of five project affected villages •Nigulseri affected by the Nathpa-Jhakri project

•Chagaon and Urni affected by the Karcham - Wangtoo

project

•Pangi affected by the Kashang project

•Moorang affected by the Tidong project

The interview schedule comprised of questions

covering the attitude and perceptions of people

about physical and social impacts of hydro

power projects in these villages

40%

45%

3% 12%

0%

Strongly unfavorable

unfavorable

neutral

favorable

strongly favorable

MOST SPONTANEOUS RESPONSE TO HYDRO POWER

PROJECT DEVELOPMENT IN KINNAUR

23

38

35

28

16

50

38

52 50

72

27

24

13

16

12

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Increased Employment

Opportunities

Increased Business Opportunities

Created Better Roads

Improved Health Facilities

Checked Deforestation

Yes

No

Cant say

Positive Impacts Perceived by Respondents (%)

76

98 93

38

69

98

62

76

50

93

79

0 0 2

57

17

0

7 8

44

2 5

24

2 5 5

13

2

31

16 16

5

16

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Yes No Cant say

Negative Impacts Perceived by Respondents (%)

Discussion • The findings of the case study confirm that 20%

of the respondents were directly affected by the projects while the remaining 80% were affected indirectly

• There is an unfavourable perception and a negative attitude towards hydel power projects in Kinnaur district

• This is mainly because the local residents do not perceive any benefit in terms of employment opportunities or improvement in infrastructure rather they believe that the projects stand responsible for destroying their simplicity of life

Diversion of Forest Land and Deforestation

According to the state forest department, over 70, 000 hectares of

forest land has so far been diverted to hydel projects. Of this,

nearly 1,000 hectares in Kinnaur district. EIA reports of

individual projects indicate felling of about 35,046 trees

including highly endangered species like Chilgoza trees (Pinus

Gerardiana)

DEFORESTATION

Uprooting of hundreds

of trees including 2803

Chilgoza At Tidong-1

Project

Residents of six

villages coming under

Tinala forest area

mentioned that they

lost 80 per cent of their

Chilgoza trees due to

blasting and debris

dumping

To give a way to the

projects in Kinnaur other

districts like Shimla,

Kullu, Sirmaur and

Bilaspur are also affected

as 1,19,292 trees have

been cut to construct

these power lines

Transmission towers and loss of valuable trees

like Cedrus Deodara

DISPOSAL OF EXCAVATION MATERIAL

Dumping of excavation

material next to or

sometimes illegally

directly into the Satluj

has lead to highly

elevated sediment loads

that not only cause

deterioration of water

quality but also

problems for other

hydropower dams

downstream

Muck Disposal Site Along Satluj River

Muck Disposal Site Along Satluj River Near Jhakri

Dumping Sites on Steep Slopes

DISRUPTION OF RIVER FLOW

DUE TO CONDUITING

•Decrease in precipitation

•Affected aquatic ecology in general and fisheries

in particular

•Drying up of springs, agricultural and grazing

fields

•Produced cracks in houses

•Land sliding

Barrage at Nathpa (NJPC Project)

Satluj River Reduced to a Trickle Downstream of Nathpa Barrage

Dry River Bed of Satluj Downstream of Karcham Dam

Dams as Physical Barriers to Fish Movement

Depleting trends in the

catches of game fish like

Mahaseer

(genera Tor, Neolissochilus and Naziritor in the family Cyprinidae) and

Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Interruption in the life

cycle of migratory species

of fish

Shortage of Water for Drinking and Irrigation

Disruption of the natural aquifers

Him Dhara, a Himachal based

environment action group, obtained

data under the Right to Information

Act from the Irrigation and Public

Health Department, which revealed

that 43 out of 167 water sources had

dried up in villages affected by the

Karchham Wangtoo project, and

discharge in another 67 has gone

down

Source – ‘Rivers Siphoned off’

The Tribune May6, 2012, India

DAM SAFETY! Leaking Cliffs at Wangtoo Project

Perceived Threat of Disasters like

Earthquakes and Landslides…..

Kinnaur has a history of earthquake occurrences

•January, 1975 with magnitude 6.2

•Around Yangthang project 34

earthquakes with magnitude 7.5 between

1816 and 1997

•Some studies also relate it to the slope

vulnerability due to natural and human

cause

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Rainfall Snowfall Temperatures

P

E

R

C

E

N

T

CLIMATIC CHANGE WITNESSED BY

RESIDENTS

Increased

Decreased

Same

Despite Water Tankers Sprinkling Water on Roads, Air Pollution is a Serious Issue

Pollution due to Road Building and Tunneling

Decrease in crop production

APPLE ORCHARDS THREATENED BY PROJECTS

Throughout the

district, people

attribute the decrease

in crop production to

air pollution, decrease

in precipitation and

lack of moisture in the

soil due to

establishment of

Hydro projects

APPLE ORCHARDS THREATENED BY HEP PROJECTS IN UPPER KINNAUR

Orchards in Arid Region of Upper Kinnaur

Apple Orchards, Leo, Upper Kinnaur

Sheep Rearing Threatened by Projects

Tribal Women Weaving

Consequences

–Clashes over water, forest and other rights

between villagers and project managements

–Struggle Committees

–Boycott of Panchayat elections by five

villages in Jan., 2011

Protests

Conclusion

Failure of government and companies to abide by the environmental and rehabilitation norms; livelihood issues, emotional, religious and historical sentiments attached to rivers are some of the reasons behind local peoples’ unrest and conflicts .

Expressed that

“we have our apple and Chilgoza plantations, why are the power projects destroying them and forcing us to take up daily wages jobs”.

Contd…….

Government needs to take a call and ensure optimum utilization of present infrastructure, use more sustainable means of transportation, less destructive technology, ensure employment on priority basis for the locals, adequate compensation that takes care of damage and so on .

Rehabilitation and resettlement of displaced people should be done in such a manner that they do not feel culturally neglected and economically vulnerable at the new place of habitat.

Contd……….

Above all a question of national integrity has arisen

as obvious from the slogans of protestors ‘Peking

Nazdik hai, Dilli Door Hai’•, conveying that

Peking, the capital of China is closer to Indian

capital New Delhi. Further agitating against

Karchham- Wangtoo project ‘ Isse Acha To Hum

Cheen Ke Saath Hote to Behtar Tha’•, it would

have been better had we been with China………

Limitations of study

1. Time constraints

2. Sample size could have been

bigger to represent the affected

population fairly

3. Pure social issues were not a part

of the survey hence leaving space

for a more detailed study

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