Prospect of Small Hydropower Projects for Sustainable Development of Water Resources in Karbi Anglong District, Assam, India

The North Eastern Region (NER) of India has the highest hydropower potential, i.e., almost 40% of the country's total potential (55929 MW), out of which only 7027 MW has been harnessed so far. Contrary to the currently emphasized large hydro projects, which impart significant ecological changes on the river dynamics, the NER offers enormous Small Hydropower (SHP) potential which can be harnessed with a much lesser outlay cost. One of the objectives of India's small hydropower program is to encourage SHP projects, as these can provide an energy solution to rural, isolated, and hilly areas where the extension of the grid system would be relatively expensive. The present study area falling in Karbi-Anglong District of Assam has been selected for identification of potential sites for SHP through detailed hydrological study of the available water resources. The hilly district of Karbi-Anglong falls under Sixth Schedule Areas of the Constitution of India where majority of the population belongs to Scheduled Tribe Communities, is both industrially and economically backward. A total of 46 potential sites have been selected on eight streams present in the area. The results show that these watersheds can generate 48.4 MW of power via development of small to mini multipurpose hydropower projects. Using canal networks attached to these multipurpose projects, the natural gradient available in the hilly watershed can best utilized to irrigate downstream areas at a lower cost. These irrigation-based multipurpose projects will boost agriculture activity in the tribal areas of Karbi-Anglong and nearby districts and also be able to meet the captive requirement of power. Increased rural electrification can facilitate the development of industries dependent on agriculture and forestry, which will improve the area's economy and social upliftment of the whole area. Keywords: North Eastern Region (NER), Small Hydropower (SHP), Water Resources, Karbi-Anglong, Assam