In Ladakh, a massive energy project is shrouded in mystery

Early May is a busy time in Ladakh’s Changthang region. This is when pastoralists prepare to migrate with their livestock to the green highland pastures in the Pang area for the summer. Until the onset of winter in October, they remain on the move, grazing their sheep and goats where pastures are available.

But since last year, the Changpas, as the pastoralists are locally known, have been anxious. They fear that their migration routes will be affected by a sprawling 13-gigawatt integrated renewable energy project slated to come up in Pang, which they fear could lead to their pasturelands being fenced off.

“We spend six months of summer in the Pang area,” Lundup Gyatso, sarpanch of Samad Rockchan village, told Scroll in mid May as he wrapped up material he would need for the coming months, during the migration. “If they take the entire pastureland, our livestock will have nothing to eat and will perish. As a result, Changpas will vanish.”

The project is expected to generate 9 gigawatts of solar power and 4 gigawatts of wind power. This electricity will be transmitted 713 km from Ladakh to Haryana, where it will be integrated into the national grid. A government firm has been given the responsibility of laying down...

Read more