Nepal wants to be a clean-energy powerhouse. The indigenous people are paying the price
Summary
Nepal’s hydropower boom is reshaping Sankhuwasabha’s rivers and forests, putting Indigenous communities in Chyamtang under pressure as construction cuts into ancestral land and sacred sites. Residents say promised development has brought exclusion, land conflict and rising environmental risk near fragile glacial lakes.
Key Points
- The Chhujung Khola Hydropower Project in Sankhuwasabha has become a flashpoint between Nepal’s clean-energy push and the rights of Indigenous Bhote Singsa communities.
- Residents say consultation for the project was inadequate, with many villagers absent from the official hearing and community members claiming they were never properly informed about the deal.
- The project’s construction is taking place near fragile glacial lakes and a protected conservation zone, raising concerns about blasting, landslides and downstream disaster risk.
- Local people say the hydropower boom has brought disruption to ancestral land, sacred forests and livelihoods, even as Nepal targets massive growth in electricity generation.
