The 37.5 MW Tamor Khola-5 Hydropower Project, developed by Riverside Hydro Energy Pvt. Ltd., is located in Phaktanglung Rural Municipality, Taplejung District, partly within the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area. The project directly concerns the ancestral territories of the Yakthung Limbu Indigenous Peoples, whose identity, livelihoods, customary governance, and spiritual worldview are deeply rooted in the Tamor River, known as Imbiri Yangthangma.
Despite the river’s profound cultural and ecological significance, project activities—including road construction, land clearing, tunnelling, and blasting—have advanced without meaningful participation or Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) of affected Indigenous communities. Communities report landslides, drying water sources, damage to cardamom farms, biodiversity loss, and threats to sacred Mundhum sites. These impacts endanger not only livelihoods and ecosystems but also Indigenous knowledge, spiritual traditions, and the intergenerational transmission of cultural heritage.
In a significant step toward seeking justice, on 2 June 2026, affected Indigenous community members, represented by LAHURNIP, filed writ petitions before the Supreme Court of Nepal against the Tamor Khola-5 and Upper Tamor hydropower projects. The petitions seek suspension of the projects, independent environmental, geological, and social assessments with Indigenous participation, protection of ancestral lands and sacred sites, recognition of the right to FPIC, and urgent measures to prevent further environmental harm and landslide risks.
