‘No Means No’: People’s Protest Against Hydroelectric Development in Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh, India

Abstract

Development projects, primarily hydroelectric power projects, are considered viable renewable energy sources and contribute to sustaining the economy at large. However, it has been contested over excessive exploitation and appropriation of environment and ecology. Such development models have been challenged worldwide for threatening human survival degrading ecology and the environment. Hydroelectric development in the geographically fragile regions of the Himalayas is on the rise owing to the great potential of hydro energy in the region. This article examines the public protest against the hydroelectric project, the Jangi-Thopan-Powari Hydro Electric project, in the Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh.