Lawyers' Association for Human Rights of Nepalese Indigenous Peoples (LAHURNIP)216 MW Upper Trishuli-1, a run-of-river Hydropower Project, is set to operate in Rashuwa district. It is located in the upper part of the Trishuli watershed, in Rasuwa district which is part of the ancestral homeland of the Tamang people.
LAHURNIP conducted impact study in 2917 of this project that depicted a total of 7181 people, i.e. 1646 households, live in the three project-affected Village Development Committees (VDCs) – Haku, Ramche, and Dhunche.Tamang is the major group in all t project-affected VDCs – Haku (93 percent), Dhunche (49 percent), and Ramche (96 percent).
A company called 'Nepal Water and Energy Development Company (NWEDC)' was established in March 200 to develop the power project. The shareholders of NEWEDC include Korea South East Power Company (52%), Daelim Industrial Company (16%), Kyeryong Construction Industrial Company (10%), International Finance Corporation (12%), and the local Nepalese partner Mr. Bikesh Pradhanang (10%). The land acquisition process for the project began in 2013.
But the project violated the FPIC, performance standards of IFC, national and international laws and policies. The participation of project-affected indigenous and local communities in the project cycle was found to be denied. LAHURNIP has provided support to the affected communities for 2015. The project has gone through FPIC with the support of Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities (NEFIN in the year 2018. But the communities have still grievance on the FPIC processes who have been seeking legal support from LAHURNIP.