Guwahati: As India pushes hydropower to meet its net-zero ambitions, a new study has reignited the debate over whether large dams can truly balance clean energy goals with the rights of people living downstream.
Researchers have found that while the 2,000 MW Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project (SLHEP) has generated jobs, infrastructure and the promise of cleaner electricity, downstream communities in Assam continue to face concerns over flooding, declining fisheries, inadequate compensation and limited participation in decisions that affect their lives.
Published in the journal Energy Research & Social Science, the study argues that the debate should move beyond simply being “for” or “against” hydropower. Instead, it says the success of such mega projects should be judged by whether they deliver distributive, procedural and recognition justice—ensuring that benefits and burdens are shared fairly, affected communities are genuinely consulted, and local knowledge and rights are respected.
The paper, “Can large hydropower projects deliver a just transition? Exploring perspectives from downstream communities in India,” is authored by Debarpita Banerjee of Prafulla Chandra College, Kolkata, Debarchana Biswas, Anamika Barua and Chayashri Basumatary of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati.
Drawing on field surveys across 27 villages in Dhemaji and Lakhimpur districts, the researchers interviewed 100 households and conducted 16 focus group discussions with villagers, officials, workers and community representatives to understand how people perceive the dam’s long-term impacts.
The study acknowledges that the project has brought tangible benefits. Thousands of local residents found work during construction, many returning home after the COVID-19 pandemic instead of migrating elsewhere. NHPC has also invested in schools, healthcare facilities, drinking water schemes and skill development initiatives around the project area.
However, the researchers say these gains have not erased a growing sense of inequity among downstream residents.
Many respondents said they continue to fear sudden releases of water, recurring floods and riverbank erosion, while fishermen reported shrinking catches and changes in the river’s ecology. Residents in parts of Lakhimpur even referred to stretches of the Subansiri as the “Mora Subansiri” or “Dead Subansiri”, reflecting concerns over reduced river flows and ecological degradation.
One of the study’s strongest criticisms concerns the project’s environmental impact assessment (EIA). According to the researchers, the original assessment covered only a seven-kilometre stretch downstream of the dam, leaving many communities outside the official impact zone despite experiencing repeated floods and erosion. Those excluded, the paper says, were neither adequately consulted nor compensated.
The researchers also point to a trust deficit between authorities and local communities. While officials maintain that flood warning systems and consultation mechanisms exist, villagers told researchers that alerts often arrive too late or are not communicated in ways that allow them to prepare effectively.
Rather than questioning hydropower itself, the authors recommend reforms that could make future projects more socially acceptable. These include expanding environmental assessments to cover the full downstream impact zone, ensuring equitable benefit-sharing, guaranteeing affordable local electricity, strengthening compensation and grievance mechanisms, adopting river flow rules that protect fisheries and ecosystems, and establishing independent monitoring systems.
The study comes at a time when hydropower development is accelerating in the Northeast. The paper notes that the region has an estimated hydropower potential of nearly 56,000 MW, but only a fraction has been developed so far, with several more projects planned across Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Nagaland.
The authors conclude that large dams need not become symbols of conflict if governments integrate justice into planning, implementation and operation. They argue that hydropower can contribute to India’s low-carbon future—but only when communities living closest to the rivers are treated not merely as stakeholders, but as equal partners in the transition.
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