Analysis of Benefit Sharing Schemes by Hydropower Projects in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh

There is a growing expectation of hydropower projects developers to share the benefits with the people living in the project affected areas. Project affected people are those who are displaced from their place of settlement and whose livelihoods are affected as a result of change in the hydrological and economic dynamics. The people displaced due to dam construction struggle to adapt and develop new livelihoods. In the light of the above the project aims to identify and assess benefit-sharing processes that have evolved around hydel power projects in Sikkim and Arunachal.

Policies need to be strengthened through legally binding provisions in the form of acts and laws. Lessons may be learned not only from frameworks developed internationally but also within other sectors within the country.