Assessing the impact of small hydropower projects in Jammu and Kashmir: A study from north-western Himalayan region of India

Small hydro projects (SHPs) are considered to be more eco-friendly as compared to large reservoir-based hydro projects. Throughout the world, SHPs are found to be more socially acceptable when compared with large ones because of less displacement of the population of the area and minimum harmful effects on flora and fauna. But still, in the western Himalayan region, these SHPs are under the radar of environmentalists and local communities because these projects sometimes cause the long-term negative impact on the environment due to lack of proper planning. The unwanted blockages in the mainstream, ruthless drilling, blasting of mountains and adverse effects on the downstream of the river due to migration of fish species are some of the environmental impacts. This research article presents the study of SHPs development in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), as it is one of the hydro-rich states in the northwestern Himalayan region of India. In this paper, three SHPs from J&K are taken for the case study. To find out various sustainability issues related to these SHPs, a detailed discussion with the project affected people, interaction with the technical staff of these projects and in-depth field survey was carried out.