Kinnaur villagers protest unfulfilled power project promises”

Kinnaur villagers protest unfulfilled power project promises”

Shimla, June 20

Villagers belonging to three Gram Panchayats in the Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh staged a protest against the 100 MW Shorang project on Tuesday.

The project manager, Anoop Banyal, confirmed that he had met with the residents of the local Panchayats at Pawar House. He acknowledged the demands related to employment and pension, which are linked to the R&R (Resettlement and Rehabilitation) policy. Banyal assured the Panchayat representatives that these demands would be fulfilled soon, including the provision of project royalty to the Panchayats as agreed upon. Additionally, an agreement was in place with the government regarding employment and pension.

However, the villagers alleged that none of their demands had been met according to the agreement made during the land acquisition process. They claimed that the power company did not pay the one percent royalty as agreed upon in 2008. In response, the villagers cordoned off the project site and issued a warning of intensifying their agitation if their demands were not met.

The Shorang project is located at the gateway of Kinnaur, and people from the Chaura, Rupi, and Bada Kamba Panchayats have been protesting in front of the Pawar House of the Shorang Hydroelectric Project since the previous day. They accused the company of not fulfilling the agreements made with the local people, despite the project being operational.

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The primary issues raised by the villagers include the provision of employment opportunities for the local population and the provision of pensions for those affected by the project. Additionally, they highlighted the company’s reluctance to allocate one percent of the electricity production to the people of the affected area, as stated in the Power Policy of 2008.

Rameshwar Negi, the Panchayat Pradhan of Rupi, stated that on November 29, 2021, the company had entered into an agreement with the administration to provide employment to the affected people. However, Kamal Kishore, a resident of Bada Kamba, stated that despite his land being acquired for the project’s construction, none of his family members were offered employment opportunities in the project.