Teesta-V

Project details

Project name: Teesta-V

Project location: Teesta River, Sikkim, Northern India

Installed capacity: 510 MW

Project owner: NHPC Limited

Commission date: 2008

Assessment details

Assessment tool: Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol (HSAP)

Assessment stage: Operation

Assessment date: January - June 2019, with an on-site assessment on 4-13 March 2019

Assessment overview

Over the first ten years of operations, NHPC has expanded its activities along the Teesta River and made significant efforts to mitigate its social and environmental impacts, to create socio-economic benefits, and to communicate and cooperate with local communities. The most significant impacts of the project are related to the loss of agricultural and forest land, with a total of 261 families whose land was partially or totally acquired; changes in the Teesta River which flows north to south from the high Himalayas into the plains of Bengal; and impacts on the traditional way of life in Sikkim’s mountain communities. At the same time, the project has provided significant socio-economic benefits, including low-cost electricity and employment.

Teesta-V meets proven best practice on 6 out of 20 topics, exceeds basic good practice on 9 topics and meets basic good practice on 5 topics.

Sustainability Profile