Quiet Struggles of Communities Navigating Hydropower in the Himalayan Region

The Sidrapong Hydroelectric Power Station in Arya Tea Estate, Darjeeling, was the first hydroelectric power plant in India, commissioned in 1897. Today, you are always a stone's throw away from some hydropower infrastructure when you are in the Darjeeling hills. The Darjeeling hills are part of the Eastern Himalayan Region, which is referred to as India’s “future powerhouse”. Bijanbari is one such block in the Darjeeling district, with hydropower infrastructure in every direction.  The Chota Rangit River flows through Bijanbari, where a hydel power plant, called the Power House and Four Zero, is located. Nearby in the Rammam River basin is the Rammam Hydropower project, a run-of-the-river system. The Chongtong tea plantations across Bijanbari feature large electricity transmission poles and wires, which have reportedly earned crores of rupees from this setup. Walking under these transmission wires, there is always a low hum of electricity passing through them. And the people are left to wonder who is getting all the “power” and benefits? This commentary discusses knowledge asymmetry regarding hydropower within a top-down, technocratic governance structure. This knowledge asymmetry undermines local experiences and fails to engage with a historical and contextual understanding of the region, thereby impacting, in turn, the disaster preparedness of communities. 

The absence of information within the community, with information flowing unidirectionally through specific channels, is a characteristic of India's governance structure. The low engagement and information exchange reflect the state's default unwillingness; even when exchange does occur, it often involves rejecting local, lived experiences as valid knowledge and scientific evidence.

All of these aspects came to the fore in 2023, when a hydropower project proposal for Bijanbari and its neighbouring village-town, Pulbazar, was revived. The West Bengal Government proposed an 18 MW hydropower project on the Chhota Rangit and Balawas rivers, which run through Bijanbari and Pulbazar. This was not a new project but a repackaging of a 2015 plan developed with tea plantation owners, which had not progressed due to local opposition. In discussions that followed, the Save Chhota Rangit Campaigning Committee reflected on the region's existing hydropower projects, noting a general scarcity of information, the absence of provisions for local benefits, and the risk of disasters. The first private hydropower project in West Bengal, the Nippon Hydel Power Project in the Rammam River basin of Bijanbari Block, has faced multiple mishaps leading to disasters in 2016 and 2019. In both instances, the intake pipe burst, causing damage to water pipelines and roads, uprooting trees, and flooding farmlands. In 2016, the water rose to 500 feet and in 2019, the force was strong enough to block activity on the road. It must be underlined that extreme weather events further exacerbate disasters caused by hydropower infrastructure.   

Local coping mechanisms come into play more quickly than those from companies' head offices, located mainly in the state capital, Kolkata, but top-down governance processes can also obstruct disaster preparedness in communities. In 2016, a new categorisation for projects emerged, known as the white category, which creates a hurdle for information sharing with the public. The categorization exempts small hydropower projects with a capacity of less than 25 MW – the category into which all the above-discussed fall – from public consultation and environmental impact assessment. While the state conducts feasibility studies, land and ownership assessments, and geotechnical investigations, there is no obligation for a public hearing. Meanwhile, in disaster relief and recovery, the state's focus tends to be on post-disaster aid and shelter, which can take time, and so the community's knowledge and experience need to be considered when developing extensive infrastructure and responding quickly to disasters.

Actively valuing community knowledge systems can significantly aid in understanding smaller-scale, slow-onset disasters and their ripple effects. First and foremost, this provides a space for communities to voice their views on what could accrue from hydropower development in their backyard. They can share their knowledge of existing infrastructure development and its impacts, such as shifts in agricultural output, variations in the quality and quantity of natural resources – including forests and water – and the effects of related hydropower infrastructure, which are often overlooked in impact assessments. In disasters, communities and informal networks are the first responders. These need to be strengthened and their diverse experiences with hydropower development and disasters – often differentiated by socio-economic classes and livelihoods –  need to be recorded.

The recording of community-level disaster prevention, management, and relief will help address, at least partly, the lack of long-term scientific data in the Himalayas. To reduce knowledge asymmetry, the state should enable communities to participate in state-led knowledge exchange initiatives to learn about project development, disaster forecasting, and post-disaster relief. This knowledge-sharing improves decision-making power on both sides. The right of communities to access, interpret, and respond to data from the state involves more than technical skills; it involves recognising their right to do so as those most immediately affected by hydropower projects and as those who are the first responders in any disaster.