The Saal Valley is tucked away in the eastern part of Himachal Pradesh's Chamba District. It is home to the Hull Nala, a stream that meanders through the hills for around twenty kilometres before meeting up with the Saal River. This eventually joins the mighty Ravi, one of the five rivers of Punjab, near the town of Chamba.
In many ways the Hull Nala is no different from most other Himalayan streams – the same unique interaction with the land, forests and people. Traditional watermills line its banks, extensive irrigation channels feed terraced vegetable farms, children bathe in silver pools, and lush oak forests run parallel along steep slopes. As with practically every other stream and river in Himachal, it is seen as a potential source of electricity. But unlike most other river valleys, the inhabitants of the Saal Valley have in recent months come out onto the streets of Chamba to register their discontent with how the state is utilising their river.
Perhaps more peculiar is that the local opposition to two hydroelectric projects, Hull I and II, has succeeded in receiving a sensitive response from the state government. Due to growing pressure, this past May the principal secretary, J P Negi, took the rare step of establishing a district-level review committee to look into the grievances. Comprised of senior officials from all concerned departments, on 6 June, this review committee held a public hearing at Jadera, to seek the opinions of the people of the three panchayats that would be affected by the Hull projects. On 25 June, the committee visited each of the affected sites to study the possible fallout of the projects for the area. In a state that has been on a spree of commissioning 'hydel' projects, this latest turn of events was an interesting one.
Pure economics
Over the past decade, Himachal Pradesh came to be known as the 'power state', boasting as it does a hydroelectric potential of nearly 21,000 megawatts. At the moment, nearly 6070 MW are being harnessed, while projects for an additional 7600 MW are currently under construction. By the end of the 11th Five Year Plan, in 2012, state officials estimate that Himachal will be producing 11,000 MW.