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  • 🌱 Unpaid Wages and Searing Heat: Inside India’s Gigantic Renewable Energy Project 🏜️👷‍♂️

🌱 Unpaid Wages and Searing Heat: Inside India’s Gigantic Renewable Energy Project 🏜️👷‍♂️

Unpaid wages, extreme heat, and harsh working conditions are driving migrant workers away from India’s gigantic renewable energy park in Gujarat. Discover the human cost behind the world’s largest clean energy project.

Author

Green Glow
September 18, 2025

India is racing to the forefront of the renewable energy revolution with ambitious projects that promise to transform its power landscape. At the heart of this vision lies the world’s largest renewable energy park, spread across the barren salt desert of Gujarat’s Rann of Kutch. Designed to generate 30 gigawatts of clean power, the park is hailed as a marvel of engineering and a milestone in global climate action. But behind this green dream is a troubling human reality: migrant workers enduring unpaid wages, punishing heat, and grueling hours.

Table of Contents

The Scale of the Project

The park covers nearly 72,400 hectares—an area larger than Singapore—and combines both solar and wind power. Once completed, it is expected to power 18 million homes and cut 58 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually. On paper, the project is not just a national achievement but also a global benchmark in renewable energy infrastructure.

Yet, as the site grows, so do stories of exploitation that raise uncomfortable questions about whether clean energy is being built on the backs of invisible, underpaid labor.

Migrant Workers: The Backbone of Construction

Most of the workforce comes from India’s poorer states such as Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh. Drawn by promises of higher pay and steady employment, these young men leave behind families, farmland, and schools in search of opportunity.

But instead of prosperity, many encounter broken promises—unpaid or delayed wages, inadequate housing, and endless working hours under the scorching desert sun. For workers already burdened by debt, the gamble of migration often ends in further financial loss.

Harsh Working and Living Conditions

Life in the desert is far from easy:

  • Temperatures regularly soar above 45°C (113°F), making physical labor exhausting and dangerous.

  • Shifts stretch to 12 hours or more, leaving workers with little time to rest.

  • Accommodation often consists of makeshift tents without reliable electricity or clean water.

  • Access to healthcare is minimal, and many workers suffer from heatstroke, dehydration, and injuries without proper treatment.

This daily grind, combined with the uncertainty of whether wages will arrive on time, has led many to quit the project altogether.

The Wage Problem

Delayed and unpaid wages are the most pressing grievance. Workers are caught in a complex chain of subcontracting where accountability becomes blurred:

  • Main developers pass contracts to mid-level firms.

  • These firms then subcontract to smaller contractors.

  • Workers often find themselves at the bottom of this chain, left waiting for payments that never come.

Without payslips, formal contracts, or access to complaint mechanisms, workers have little power to demand justice. Some even return home penniless, sinking further into debt after paying for travel and living costs.

Regulation and Accountability Gaps

While India has strong labor laws on paper, enforcement remains weak—especially in remote areas. Renewable energy construction is still seen as “general construction,” leaving solar and wind workers without recognition as a separate category. This lack of clarity makes it easier for companies to bypass worker protections.

Government officials insist that complaints are addressed when reported, but many workers are unaware of their rights or too fearful of retaliation to speak up. The system effectively silences those most affected.

The Human Cost of Clean Energy

The irony is stark: a project designed to fight climate change is generating new human costs. Workers who should be the foundation of India’s clean energy future are being burned out—physically, financially, and emotionally. Some leave disillusioned, while others return home worse off than when they arrived.

If this pattern continues, India’s renewable ambitions risk being tarnished by the very exploitation they should be working to replace.

What Needs to Change

For India to balance its climate goals with social justice, urgent steps are required:

  1. Timely and Transparent Wages – Strict monitoring of contractor payments and digital wage transfers can reduce exploitation.

  2. Worker Recognition – Categorizing “solar labour” as a distinct workforce could ensure tailored protections.

  3. Improved Living Conditions – Basic amenities like clean water, electricity, healthcare, and proper shelter must be mandatory.

  4. Stronger Oversight – Independent inspections and grievance redress systems should be in place at all renewable project sites.

  5. Corporate Accountability – Developers must take responsibility for all layers of subcontracting, not just pass blame down the chain.

Conclusion

The world’s largest renewable energy park is a bold statement of India’s commitment to a greener future. But its success should not be measured only in gigawatts or carbon savings. True progress lies in ensuring that the workers who build this clean energy revolution are treated with dignity, fairness, and respect. Otherwise, the promise of renewable energy will remain incomplete—a clean future built on unjust foundations.

FAQs

What is India’s renewable energy mega-park?

It is the world’s largest hybrid renewable energy park, located in the Rann of Kutch, Gujarat. Once completed, it will generate 30 gigawatts of power, combining both solar and wind energy.

Why are workers quitting the project?

Many migrant workers face unpaid or delayed wages, long working hours, and harsh living conditions in extreme desert heat. These conditions have forced many to abandon the project.

How many homes will the project power?

When fully operational, the park could power up to 18 million homes and cut 58 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually.

What are the main challenges faced by workers?

Workers often endure:

  • 12-hour shifts in temperatures above 45°C (113°F)

  • Lack of clean water, electricity, and healthcare

  • Makeshift tents for housing

  • Little to no recourse when wages are withheld

What solutions are being proposed?

Experts suggest digital wage payments, stronger government oversight, recognition of “solar labour” as a distinct workforce, improved living standards, and corporate accountability to protect workers’ rights.

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