The project is expected to submerge 11,600 hectares of mountain area – a land mass larger than Chandigarh (11,400 hectares) – in five seismic zones. Of this area, 7,600 hectares would lie in the three districts of Uttarakhand and the rest in Nepal. In all, the authorities plan to acquire 9,100 hectares of land in Uttarakhand and 5,000 hectares in Nepal. According to project developers, close to 30,000 families spread over 62 villages in Uttarakhand stand to lose their land. They have not yet assessed how many livelihoods would be impacted.

Serious questions were raised by activists questioning the process of compensation and the clearance process and the logic of holding public hearings during the monsoon (see social movements' declaration further below), and documentation provided only in English (while Hindi is the local common language). There's a large number of environmental concerns as well, listed by SANDRP in a letter to the Experts Appraisal Authority, including threats to habitats of endangered species like the tiger [5].

Concerns also are that the same lack of compliances will happen as in the case of the Tehri dam. In a letter to the Pithoragarh district magistrate, the South Asia Network for Dams, River and People said, “The public hearing needs to be conducted in a central location of the project affected area and not in the district headquarters, like the way it is planned now.” [2]

Furthermore, the Pancheshwar dam is a threat to small projects for regional development. In Rasyuna village on the banks of the Sarju river, for instance, villagers have come together to plan their own 1-megawatt mini hydro project under the state’s policy to promote small dams. Their project report estimates that the village would earn Rs 16 lakhs to Rs 20 lakhs a month from such a dam and employ around 100 people. But now they have been told that the Pancheshwar dam will submerge the site. [2]

The 9th September is the Himalayan Day, celebrated in the hilly states. However, activists and concerned citizens remark that that day has now turned into a pro-developmentalist propaganda day. The Times of India (TOI) writes that on that day in 2017: "Demonstrations were held in a number of towns like Almora, Bageshwar, Haldwani, Ramnagar and Tanakpur. “In 2010, when in Dehradun, along with Sunderlal Bahuguna, Chandi Prasad Bhatt, Anil Joshi and many other senior environmentalists and activists of Uttarakhand, we had decided to celebrate 'Himalayan Day', we thought it will help us raise the concerns of the Himalayas,” PC Tiwari, president of Uttarakhand Parivartan Party, told TOI. He added that “since the past few years, the government has grabbed this day for its propaganda only.” “On one side, oaths are being taken to save the Himalayas and on the other side, the Himalayas are being subjected to anti-people and anti-environment projects like Pancheshwar Dam”. [4] Uttarakhand Parivartan Party marked the day as 'Pancheshwar Dam Protest Day.’