Socio-economic impact of Syarpudaha mini hydropower project in Rukum district

Abstract

In general, this study attempts to evaluate the importance of electricity in the developmentof Nepal. This research, however focuses on the significance of the micro-hydropowerproject in the context of our county. Obviously, Nepal has lack capital, infrastructure andtechnology to install large hydropower projects. In such a case. it is rather wise andpractical to install micro hydropower projects to fulfill our demand for electricity. For itcan be installed with small amount of capital. So we can encourage the private sector toinvest on it. Likewise, it does not demand as sophisticated technology as the largeprojects do. Moreover, it is free of hazardous environmental impacts. In all, it unlike thebig projects, has more positive impacts than negative ones. So, the small hydropowerprojects can play a key role in the overall development of Nepal. The present study hasattempted to bring these aspects of the small hydropower projects into the limelightthrough the study of impacts of SyarpudahaMini Hydropower Project in the overallsectors of the study area,JhulaVDC, Rukum. Nepal has immense endowment of waterresources. It is expected that electrification will create various opportunities ofdevelopment activities in the rural areas. Neitherare traditional sources in the position tomeet the requirements of energy nor are they sustainable. The hydropower plant of Zurich of Switzerland built in 1882 is the first hydropower plantin the world. In the context of Nepal, Pharping Hydro plant (500KW) is the firsthydropower plant. Nowadays, the demand of electricity is increasing by more than 10percent. Up to the end of FY 2008 there are 58 hydropower projects. They havecontributed total 675.959 including 144.083MW by private sector in accordance withPower Purchasing Agreement (PPA).TheSyarpudaha MiniHydropower is a run-off-rivertype project with240KW capacity. The construction work of this project started in2041and completed in2045. It has brought about various impacts on socio-economicaspectsof people residing in the surrounding areas of the project. The socio-cultural norms andvalues have changed due to the concentration of large number of people from diversebackground. The level of awareness in people has significantly increased.The project hascreated abundant opportunities for knowledge and skill. So, their economic status hasbecome better than before. PAFs include the ethnic groups such as Brahmin, Chhetri, Kami, Damai and Thakuri in the study area , however is dominated by the Chhetricommunity. In conclusion, installation of small hydropower project like Syarpudaha Mini HydroProject is significant from various angles in the present context of Nepal, eg. to fulfill thenational demand of electricity, protect environment, uplift living standard of rural people,enhance economic activities in the rural areas and reduce regional imbalance of development.