A case against small hydropower

Small hydel projects are often hailed as sustainable models of power production but they spark an equal number of contentious issues much like the bigger projects.

Hari Singh at his farm

As Hari Singh led me towards his fields, I wondered if he was trying to play a joke on me. Large rocks were scattered in the area and there was no sight of any arable land, neither was there any clue of the irrigation channel which Singh claimed ran through his farm.

In the middle of the purported farm, he asked me to look up. I could see the mouth of a pipeline at a height of 40 feet. This was the spillover pipeline which releases excess water from the 2 MW Manimahesh Hydel Power project set up nearby. Every time water is released from the pipeline, it causes minor landslide thus dispersing rocks on 1.08 hectare of fields in the area belonging to six farmers of Saho village of Chamba district in Himachal Pradesh. 

Obviously, this was not what company officials proposed when they first came to Hari Singh to lease his land. “They said a 3 foot diameter pipe will be laid under the ground to release excess water to the stream. I got Rs 1.75 lakh for the standing crop which was way less than the actual value. Later, to my horror they did not lay any underground pipe and started throwing water directly from a height.The money I got is nothing compared to the damage they have done to the land”, he said.

Bhan Singh's water mill lying dysfunctional.

Nearby, around 18 watermills were lying defunct due to the drying up of the irrigation channel and the landslide. Water mills, locally known as gharats in the northern mountain states of India, are run using the force of a flowing water of a stream or an irrigation channel.

The owner provides grinding services for wheat, maize and other locally-grown grains and keeps a small portion of the flour as a fee.

Bhan Singh used to earn around 20 kg flour daily from his two mills, which would feed his family. He even had a surplus, which he would sell in the open market. “We never calculated how much we made in monetary terms but the current rates of wheat flour is Rs 20 per kg and maize flour Rs 14-15 per kg,” he pointed out. The nine gharat owners and Hari Singh are now fighting a court case against the company.



Small is not always beautiful

Till November 30, 2011, 468 small hydel projects (upto 5MW capacity) with an aggregate capacity of 1176 MW were allotted in Himachal Pradesh. Almost all of them are run-of-the-river (RoR) projects, which diverts water through dug tunnels and then falls on the turbine from a height.

These small projects are often hailed as sustainable, non-damaging ventures and are hence exempt from submitting Environment Impact Assessment reports that are mandatory for other larger projects. The developer is also not required to hold public hearings thus preventing locals from voicing their dissent. However, these projects, scattered over several streams of the state, are closer to the people and hence impact their lives more significantly than do bigger projects.

At Sal valley of Chamba it becomes clear that issues concerning big projects are also valid for smaller ones. Project proponents extract permissions by getting a few leaders on their side, disrespect local socio-economic needs, deceive people of valid compensation and make false promises.

Legal but skewed permissions 

The tunnel going below the Othal village

Around 2.5 km from Saho, Othal village is facing a threat of landslides. A habitation of 150 people, the village is located uphill to the tunnel site for the 3MW hydropower project being set up by Himgiri Infrastructure Pvt Ltd.

Due to blasts done for the tunnel, Sato’s house already shows cracks and though several requests have been made for compensation, the company has not paid any heed. Sato has now filed a court case against the company.

Dharamchand, whose fields have also been affected due to blasts, says the villagers were never consulted when a no-objection certificate was granted to the project. “Our village falls in Proutha panchayat and though we are the most affected, the panchayat pradhan gave the no-objection certification without asking us,” he claims.

The construction work has also blocked the way to nearby grazing lands thus forcing the villagers to send their livestock to higher meadows. “Around 3,000 goats and sheep have been sent for grazing which cost us Rs 25,000,” says Dharamchand.

Forgotten promises 

Residents of upstream Kurtha village are happier. The Sahu Hydro Power Pvt Ltd, which is setting up a 5 MW project, paid Rs 10 lakh per bigha (each bigha equals .083 hectare) for the acquired land to 10 families. Around 40 persons have also got work as watchmen, labourers and contractors.

Though the company had promised jobs for 40 years, no written guarantee has been given on this. “They had promised to give a written agreement regarding jobs within nine months of starting the project but now it’s been three years and we have lost hope that something will come up. The project construction will finish by next month and then the work will also reduce,” says Sohanlal, who gets contracts to put together crate walls for the project.

Similar betrayals were witnessed at Paliur village where the 5.5 MW Him Kailash hydropower project has been commissioned. “First of all, they were not ready to give jobs. Later the company agreed but tried to transfer the workers to project sites in far-flung states. Thanks to a show of strength by the workers protesting such arbitrary decisions, the company had to back off,” says Lal Singh, a member of the local kisan sabha, who helped strengthen the workers’ movement.

The reward for the land acquired was one third of the market rate while compensation for 60 gharats, which dried up due to tunnelling, was never given. “Around two natural springs have dried up and water flow in four others has reduced substantially,” Singh says.

No heed to local economy

Babli Devi at his farm.

Babli Devi has 0.5 hectare land in Limji village of Baror panchayat on which she grows vegetables and marigold flowers. Another 2.5 bigha taken on lease is used to grow maize and wheat for family consumption.

She earns Rs 3.5 lakh every year through the sale of vegetables at Chamba and Dalhousie. Sale of flowers gets her another Rs 18,000 every Diwali.
“A farmer can easily earn Rs 1-1.5 lakh annually from 2.5 bigha farmland here. Many big farmers are getting much more,” she informs. Though this may seem like a negligible amount to raise a family, Babli Devi says it’s only because of vegetable cultivation that she has been able to have a pucca house and could ensure education for her three sons.

“Till 15 years back we just managed to survive from whatever grew in the fields. With diversification into floriculture and horticulture things have really turned around. This is the story of around 24 village of this area,” she says. The positive change was also made possible because of availability of water for irrigation from the nearby stream.

Four years back, the same source was under threat as the company, Hul Hydro Power Private Limited, got approval to set up a 4.5 MW project on the stream. The project envisages diverting the stream into a 5 km-long tunnel affecting around 24,000 villagers of six gram panchayats dependent on water for farming, fishing and rearing of livestock.

People fight back

Thanks to leaders like Babli Devi, the locals gave a tough fight not only on the ground but also in the courts. Currently, the work is at a standstill and only a small road to the powerhouse site has been constructed but it was not easy to achieve this. Since the project survey started in 2007, villagers started filing objections. A protest march in 2010 turned so ugly that gun shots were fired in which several protesters were injured. After the shoot-out, the government ordered a public hearing by Additional District Magistrate where around 1,500 villagers submitted written objections against the project.

“Our local economy is totally dependent on this stream as several irrigation channels originate from it. There are around 25 watermills on its banks providing low cost grinding services to the locals. Around 2,000 trees will also be cut if the project takes off,” says Maan Singh, the pradhan of Jadera village.

Besides meeting livelihood needs, the stream is also the source of various drinking water schemes to Chamba town and nearby villages. “During the construction phase, the project will damage the water sources which feed the stream while diversion of water will also reduce the uptake for these schemes. We can’t let this happen, which is why none of the gram sabhas has given the no-objection certificate,” Singh says.

Considering all these issues, is it prudent to say that small hydel projects are also not sustainable? Dr Mohinder Slariya, who has studied socio-economic impact of dams in Himachal Pradesh, says small projects are better than the big ones but they also need to follow certain norms. “Small hydel projects are good if the developers don’t disturb the social and economic set up of local communities, involve them in decision making and follow the principle of minimum damage to ecology,” he adds. But as long as the regulatory mechanism on small projects remains lax, it’s seems like a tall order.

The CEO of Him Urja, the government agency responsible for small hydropower projects in Himachal Pradesh, did not reply to emailed queries on the issues raised in this article.

This write up was first published on India Water Portal

Holi-Bajoli hydropower project shifts banks

A group of women in Himachal protest the shifting of a hydel project from the right bank to the left of the Ravi river. While it may seem like a simple 'side' issue, the truth is far more complex.

I could just about see a small makeshift shelter with a yellow canopy. As I made my way through the small stream and climbed uphill, I saw a JCB machine trying to clear a path. Further up the road, female voices speaking the local dialect started to emerge. A small hearth surrounded by utensils and jars of tea, sugar and lentils greeted me at the entrance.

Until last month, this was the dharna (strike) site for around 60 Gaddi tribal women of Holi village protesting the 180 MW Holi-Bajoli hydropower GMR project. Around 70 km from the district headquarters of Chamba in Himachal Pradesh, this is also the site for the edit tunnel and powerhouse of the project. The women had been sitting here in shifts for over three months lest the construction and road work begin. As I write this, news came in that the dharna has been called off but not because the problem was resolved. Bureaucratic and political intimidation had silenced the villagers again even though the battle continued in the courts.

It had never been easy for these women. As many as 31 of them were arrested on March 25 under non-bailable charges. They came back to the site after their release and continued the protest. The reason was simple: their houses, fields and forests will be destroyed if the hydel project takes off.

Villagers want the project to be shifted to the right bank of the Ravi river, which was the original proposed site of the powerhouse. “We gave the no-objection certificates to the company believing that the project will come up on the right bank which has no habitation, no orchards and no fields. Nobody knows how the site was changed from left to right bank. We also want development of the area but not at this cost,” said Bujhli Devi, who has been accused in four cases ranging from deterring a public servant from doing his duty to spreading enmity between different groups of people.

The project spans five panchayats but it is at Holi that the voices grow louder with mainly women taking the lead. The project will not only impact their houses but also the local economy which thrives on apple orchards, kidney beans and walnuts. “We women earn around Rs 1 lakh annually through sale of apple, walnuts and other forest produce. The field crops are another major source of sustainable income which will be destroyed if the powerhouse is constructed here,” said Pinki Devi, another woman leader who has been accused in seven cases.

Though the company claims it will take all precautions to avoid damage to the houses and fields, villagers are not believing them. They have already seen the impact of tunnels dug for the Chamera 3 hydel project at Dharwala village, around 45 km from here. The leakage from the tunnel has caused extensive landslides in the area damaging houses, shops and farms thus pushing the residents out.


Why is right wrong?

The state government allotted this project to GMR in 2007 through international competitive bidding with project proposal on the right bank. Assessments done by planning and design engineers of the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Limited (HPSEBL) in consultation with geologists from Geological Survey of India (GSI) also preferred the right bank recommending a pit-type powerhouse.

However, by the end of 2008, the company decided to shift it to the left bank. The reason that GMR preferrs the project to be on the left bank rather than on the right is the comparative ease which comes with switching sides. Since the left bank is already populated, it already has basic infrastructure like access roads. It also has flatter slopes when compared to the steep cliffs and rugged terrain of the right bank.

As villagers protested such a change in location, Chamba’s Deputy Commissioner sought HPSEBL’s opinion. In his reply on February 22, 2011, chief engineer of HPSEBL disapproved of the justifications given by GMR for shifting of the project. He said that the left bank had subsurface water sources, lakes and ponds which may dry up due to construction activity. The left bank was also found to be geologically more disturbed due to heavy landslides. GSI mentioned that ingress of water is expected to be higher on the left bank due to better forest cover and more streams. However, MoEF and Special Secretary (Power) of the Himachal Pradesh government approved the shifting.

In February, 2012 challenging the environment clearance and first stage forest clearance to the hydel project, Mangni Ram of Gadoh village approached the Himachal Pradesh High Court. The petition quoted the opinion of HPSEBL to strengthen its case. With its letter reaching the court, HPSEBL decided to have first-hand appraisal of the project which further strengthened its position. In his report (see attachment), Director (Civil) said the right bank is the more natural choice as “the green cover and habitation is insignificant and hence damage to ecology will be negligible". The proposal of the company is guided by commercial advantages of the left bank option, namely, short lead time to commencement of construction as well as savings in infrastructure.

While the discomfort to the company will be for a short period of 5-6 years, losses to the public and the environment aren't quantifiable. During the hearing, the court refused to consider this opinion noting that the Central Electricity Authority is the only competent authority and it has already given its approval for shifting the project. Mangni Ram has now appealed against the judgement in the Supreme Court. He contends that only HPSEBL has conducted a detailed analysis of the site and hence its opinion should be considered.

Not everybody opposing it

The first public hearing held on April 19, 2010, by GMR witnessed strong opposition from all the five affected gram sabhas.

The Deputy Commissioner announced that the next public hearing will be called only when the company obtains no-objection certificates (NOC) from all of them but by the time the next public hearing was held on October 30, 2010, most of those present approved the project with conditions that the company takes adequate care regarding the possible damages, adequate compensation and ensures guaranteed employment to the locals in the project. The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests also accepted the company’s case for the project on left bank.

Though all five gram panchayats gave their consent to the project, two of them (Holi and Nayagraon) later withdrew their support citing the diversion of large forest land and possible loss to livelihood.

The issue of forest rights

The issue of forest rights in Himachal is a contentious one. The Forest Rights Act 2006 (FRA) gives ample privileges to those dependent on forests but Himachal Pradesh sought exemption from it claiming that all rights and concessions on the forest land were settled during the British rule and hence no FRA compliance issues exist.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests also accepted the state government’s request to consider a certificate issued by the District Collector/ Deputy Commissioner as enough to meet procedural requirements of the Act and hence diversion of forest land for the project was approved.

The Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Panchayati Raj, however, objected to both these exemptions asking the state government to implement the law in a time-bound manner as the rights of forest dwellers may not have been recorded properly in traditional settlements and fresh rights may have originated. It also asked the MoEF to withdraw its consent to consider the District Collector’s certificate as enough for implementation of FRA. The MoEF, however, went ahead with the forest clearance based on the DC’s certificate thus not paying heed to the communication by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

The residents of Holi and Nayagraon, meanwhile, are adamant that their rights should be protected. “We get our fodder, fruits and fuelwood from these forests, how can the Deputy Commissioner say there are no forest rights to be settled in these areas?,” asks Bujhli Devi.

The answer is tangled in the web of bureaucratic and legal procedures.

As I took leave of the women protesters that day, they asked if the issue will be settled in their favour. I launched into a big talk about how it’s important to keep making efforts without worrying about the results. One of them said, “Efforts can only continue if we get some support once in a while. With increasing pressure from the police and political interference, we can only come so far”.

This write up was first published on India Water Portal