Way Forward
The Hydroger project has successfully evolved into a model for sustainable electricity generation which is managed by grassroots groups. Such initiatives are adding values to people’s lives, improving their quality of life, improving their livelihoods, creating unprecedented awareness, community participation and most importantly is developing governance units at a decentralized level. The benefits have also been appraised by neighbouring states who want the same model to be replicated in their home states. Demands have been made by Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh to have more sites and there has also been commercial interest which has been expressed.
For such a model to survive in the long term there has to be focus on sustainability and continuity of efforts. A cadre of professionals at the rural site level is important to ensure the longevity of the project. The development of such rural engineers or barefoot engineers is key for not only maintaining operational sites but will also play a critical role in the up scaling of the Hydroger projects in the future. The cadre of Barefoot or Rural Engineers so trained will facilitate future site selections, maintenance, and installation of higher capacity modules. If all these activities are continued as part of the project then it also becomes a source of employment for technical people at the grassroots level. The total number of rural engineers trained so far is 10 rural engineers.