Review of Existing Policies/Mechanisms/Practices of Benefit Sharing with Project Affected Families while Developing Hydropower Projects Worldwide

As part of a regional energy strategy and with sound legal and institutional arrangements, hydropower projects can be considered a tool for economic development, due to their longevity, favorable energy payback periods, their pivotal role in integrated energy systems, and their multi-purpose character. The challenge is to demonstrate sound and equitable distribution of economic benefits at all stages of scheme development and operation.

Now a days benefit sharing has become a promising approach for implementation of sustainable hydropower projects and it is emerging as a supplement to the requirements of compensation and mitigation. Benefit sharing can provide equitable development, sustainability, and smooth project implementation for hydropower development. To ensure that local communities share the social and economic benefits of hydropower projects, the benefit sharing arrangements are required to be carefully planned and designed as per the requirement of society/community on the basis of ground truth survey and consultation.

With this paper an effort has been made to show case the policies for benefits sharing being adopted by various countries with reference to Indian scenario.