Water Power: Controversies on Development and Modernity Around the Arun-3 Hydropower Project in Nepal

Zurich Open Repository and Archive University of Zurich Main Library Strickhofstrasse 39 CH-8057 Zurich www.zora.uzh.ch Year: 2014 Water power: controversies on development and modernity around the Arun-3 hydropower project in Nepal Rest, Matthäus Abstract: Since 25 years, the construction of the Arun-3 Hydropower project has been accompanied by controversies on local, national as well as transnational levels. By focusing on these discourses, this dissertation contributes towards recent debates on development and modernity. The social scientific literature on hydropower projects is predominantly occupied with “local” populations, their resistance and interaction with transnational civil society networks and institutions. Arun-3 gained prominence in these discussions when it was brought before the newly established Word Bank Inspection Panel by a group of activists from Kathmandu. Whereas the ensuing cancellation of the project was often quoted as an example of successful resistance, the people in the Arun valley were disappointed by the subsequent building freeze as they had hoped to profit from wage labour and the access road. After the end of thecivil war and the simultaneous economic rise of the country’s neighbours China and India we can now witness an intensified interest in Nepal’s strategic water resources. In spring 2008 the government announced the resumption of Arun-3 through SJVN, a state-owned Indian energy corporation. The memorandum of understanding allocates nearly 80% of the produced electricity to SJVN and therefore adds another line of conflict to the multi-layered discussion. This multi-sited ethnography shows the decisive arguments and interests that emerge in the twisted tale of this unconstructed dam. Der Bau des Arun-3 Staudamms wird seit 25 Jahren von Kontroversen auf lokaler, nationaler wie auch transnationaler Ebene begleitet. Die vorliegende Dissertation fokussiert auf diese Diskurse und leistet so einen Beitrag zu den aktuellen Debatten um Entwicklung und Moderne. Die sozialwissenschaftliche Literatur über Wasserkraftprojekte beschäftigt sich vornehmliche mit „lokalen“ Bevölkerungen, ihrem Widerstand und ihrer Interaktion mit transnationalen zivilgesellschaftlichen Netzwerken und Institutionen. Arun-3 erlangte Bekanntheit, als es 1994 von AktivistInnen aus Kathmandu vor das neu gegründete Inspection Panel der Weltbank gebracht wurde. Während die anschliessende Absage des Projekts als Beispiel für erfolgreichen Widerstand zitiert wurde, war der Grossteil der Einheimischen im Aruntal enttäuscht über den darauf folgenden Baustopp, hatten sie doch gehofft von Lohnarbeit und der Zufahrtsstrasse zu profitieren. Nach Ende des Bürgerkriegs und dem gleichzeitigen ökonomischen Aufschwung der Nachbarstaaten China und Indien kann man ein verstärktes geopolitisches Interesse an Nepals strategischen Wasserressourcen beobachten. Im Frühling 2008 verlautbarte die Regierung die Wiederaufnahme von Arun-3 durch SJVN, einen Energiekonzern in indischem Staatsbesitz. Die Absichtserklärung spricht SJVN fast 80% des produzierten Stroms zu und bringt so eine zusätzliche Konfliktlinie in die vielschichtige Diskussion ein. Diese multi-sited ethnography zeigt die bestimmenden Argumentationslinien und Interessen auf, die in der verworrenen Geschichte dieses nicht gebauten Staudamms hervortreten. Posted at the Zurich Open Repository and Archive, University of Zurich ZORA URL: https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-109721 Dissertation Published Version Originally published at: Rest, Matthäus. Water power: controversies on development and modernity around the Arun-3 hydropower project in Nepal. 2014, University of Zurich, Faculty of Arts. 2 Water Power Controversies on Development and Modernity around the Arun-3 Hydropower Project in Nepal Thesis Presented to the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences of the University of Zurich for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Matthäus Rest Accepted in the Spring Semester 2014 on the Recommendation of the Doctoral Committee: Prof. Dr. Shalini Randeria Prof. Dr. Ulrike Müller-Böker Prof. Dr. Martin Gaenszle Zurich, 2014 For Elisabeth Rest, nee Schober, Bleiwangmutter and Josef Hinterseer Copyright 2014 by Matthäus Rest All rights reserved Table of Contents Acknowledgements vi List of Abbreviations and Acronyms viii List of Illustrations and Pictures x Note on Anonymisation and Transliteration xi 1 Introduction 1 2 Constructing the Field 31 3 “Those euphoric days of democracy:” Nepal’s 1990 people’s movement, the emerging civil society and the Anti-Arun-3 campaign 51 4 The amnesiac bank: The claim before the Inspection Panel and the withdrawal of the World Bank 1995 83 5 “They provide us with a road but sweep us away from here:” Waiting for the Kosi-Lhasa-Rajmarg 113 6 A stolen statue and a missing hose: Narratives on the cancellation of Arun-3 and the futility of development in the upper Arun Valley 143 7 The next attempt: The reincarnation of the Arun-3 hydropower project 171 8 Epilogue 193 References 203 Interviews 227 Curriculum Vitae 231 Acknowledgements Without the help of others, this thesis would have never been possible. First I wish to thank my teachers. My main supervisor Shalini Randeria has been an extraordinarily inspiring intellectual guide and I feel blessed for the possibility of thinking together with her. Ulrike Müller-Böker and Martin Gaenszle were extremely supportive dialogue partners throughout this study. I gained tremendously from their extensive knowledge about Nepal; their efforts to put me in touch with relevant people and institutions were decisive for the success of my research. David Gellner invited me to Oxford where I was able to benefit not only from his guidance and expertise but also from a thriving network of people working on South Asia. Lakshmi Nath Shrestha was a diligent and patient language teacher in Heidelberg and Kathmandu; without him my Nepali would be much worse. Finally, I am deeply grateful for the on-going collaboration I have with Gertraud Seiser who has taught me so much. I thank Bilsi Maia, Hel Bahadur, Rekha and Dipen Bahadur Rai, Reeta Magar Yamphu Rai, Bhim and Parbati Bhetawal, Parbati Rijal and her daughters, Bipin Shrestha and Ulrike Oemisch for their hospitality in the Arun valley and Kathmandu. Chun Bahadur Yamphu Rai has been an extraordinary collaborator during my fieldwork in the upper Arun valley. I thank him for his friendship and endurance and Dieter Rachbauer for bringing us together. Furthermore, the office of the NCCR North-South in Kathmandu provided me with office space, institutional backing and most importantly a group of like- minded social scientists to discuss my findings. Especially Bishnu Raj Upreti and Siddhi Manandhar were important in this respect. This thesis was made possible through generous financial support from the Humer Foundation for Academic Talent and the University Research Priority Program (URPP) Asia and Europe of the University of Zurich, both of which together covered the costs of my salary and my various research stays for the first three years of my PhD. Moreover, the URPP also provided for an enriching intellectual atmosphere of interdisciplinarity and critical engagement. My thanks go to Katajun Amirpur, Inge Ammering, Samir Boulos, Christine Bichsel, Amir Hamid, Pia Hollenbach, Benedikt Korf, Fabian Schäfer, Henning Trüper and Ralph Weber. The Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Zurich was another formative arena for this thesis to take shape. I thank Gerhard Anders, Roger Begrich, Tobias Bernet, Michael Bürge, Anila Daulatzai, Michael Guggenheim, Julia Hornberger, Rohit Jain, Evangelos Karagiannis, Nikolas Kosmatopoulos, Claudia Nef Saluz, Stefan Leins, Samuel Lengen, Nikolina Stanic and Tatjana Thelen for their colleagueship and creativity. I am also grateful to - vi - the Swiss National Science Foundation and the University of Oxford for providing me with the funding and the environment to work on my thesis for a fourth year. Carlo Caduff, Deborah Cameron, Jean and John Comaroff, Akhil Gupta, Barbara Harriss-White, Cori Hayden, Ellen Hertz and Richard Rottenberg commented on drafts of the chapters at different stages and prompted me to rethink and clarify my arguments. I am also deeply indebted to Nikola Bagic, Anna Ellmer, Karen Jent and most importantly Salla Sariola who read different parts of this text in its final stage and gave me invaluable comments on how to make them better. For their support with translating and transcribing material from Nepali I thank Rishi Bishokarma, Sarbani Kattel, Sushil Manandhar and Miriam Wenner. I also extend my gratitude to Ann Armbrecht, Amita Baviskar, Sarah Byrne, Sara Elmer, Jonathan Fox, Patty Gray, Roger Jeffrey, Ichchha Purna Rai, Martin Saxer, Jai Sen, Ben Schaffer, Helen Siu, Judith Unterdörfler and Hom Yamphu for their help at different points along the way. I wish to thank Kazimuddin Ahmed, Daniel Hartenhauer, Nadia Oweidat, Ivan Panović, Salome Schaerer and Judith Taeger for living with me in Zurich and Oxford. Andreas Eckelt, Stefan Ellmer, Iris Greiffenhagen, Filip Jankela and Sandra Riebenbauer have enriched my life for the past fifteen years. Their friendship has taught me that “silence does not equate loss and distance need not spell absence” (Braidotti 2006: vii). Finally, I thank my family for their support through all the years: Heidi Rest- Hinterseer, Franz Rest, Magdalena Rest, Vinzent Rest, Hilde Hinterseer and Josef Rest. - vii - List of Abbreviations and Acronyms ACG Arun Concerned Group ADB Asian

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