Indigenous Singsa-Bhote leaders in northeastern Nepal have filed a second petition with the Supreme Court to stop the Chhujung River Hydropower Project—a move that signals their determination to challenge a development that threatens centuries of land use and livelihoods.
The 63-megawatt project has already triggered construction in the Lungbasamba region, affecting at least 228 households across three villages. In Ridak, Thudam, and Chyamtang, families who have built their survival around herding, agriculture, and medicinal herb trading now face the prospect of displacement from ancestral lands.
"The second writ petition was timely, given the increasing impacts from construction work on the community people, their lands and livelihoods," says Dhenduk Dhoma Bhote, a community leader from Ridak village and one of the petition's authors.
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Start Your News DetoxThe new petition demands three things: cancellation of the project outright, a declaration that the environmental impact assessment (EIA) is void, and an immediate halt to all construction until the court makes its final ruling. For Bhote and others in Ridak, the EIA itself is the problem—a flawed document that failed to account for what communities actually depend on to survive.
"Our ancestors have not known any other occupation," Bhote says, describing how herding and medicinal herb trading aren't just jobs but the foundation of Singsa-Bhote culture. In Thudam, yak herding dominates. In Chyamtang, agriculture is the lifeblood. The hydropower project cuts through all three economies at once.
This isn't the community's first legal stand. A 2024 writ petition is still being heard in court, and now this second filing keeps pressure on the judiciary as construction continues on the ground. The timing matters: each month of building work makes the argument for restoration harder, and the community's fear of displacement more urgent.
Nepal has pursued hydropower aggressively to meet energy demand and generate revenue, but projects in remote mountain regions often collide with Indigenous land rights and environmental concerns that assessments miss or minimize. The Singsa-Bhote case reflects a broader tension in development—the question of whose needs count when a river can be dammed.
The Supreme Court now has two active petitions to weigh. What happens next will likely shape how Nepal balances energy ambitions against Indigenous rights in future projects.
