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Two anti-mega dam activists from Arunachal Pradesh, Ebo Mili and Dungge Apang, were detained on July 8, ahead of Union Power Minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s visit to the Northeastern state.
The duo were supposed to hand over a memorandum to Khattar at the Itanagar Secretariat, according to the Siang Indigenous Farmer’s Forum (SIFF). However, before that meeting, Itanagar Police summoned them to a police station in the state capital and detained them.
Ebo Mili, a human rights lawyer from the Idu Mishmi tribal community in Roing, is a vocal opponent of the Arunachal Pradesh government’s plans to build mega dams in the state. He was arrested on an earlier occasion as well in connection with an anti-dam mural being painted on a building in Itanagar.
On July 8, Mili received a phone call from a police station in Itanagar, asking him his whereabouts. Mili reportedly asked for an official summon. To this, the police official said the phone call is recorded, which is to be considered as summons.
Mili insisted he had to meet the Itanagar Deputy Commissioner to seek permission for a peaceful demonstration from Chandranagar to the Arunachal Press Club in order to raise awareness about “rampant building of dams and the sale of our land”.
He also planned to submit a memorandum to Khattar and organise a press conference on the issue. However, Mili was taken into custody before he could seek the permission.
After detaining Mili, the police also summoned Siang Indigenous Farmers’ Forum (SIFF) convenor Dungge Apang and detained him.
Itanagar Superintendent of Police, Rohit Rajbir Singh, confirmed the development. “We do have the activists in preventive custody. We are now conducting a thorough enquiry on the matter and will issue a statement thereafter,” added Singh.
The Itanagar Police later issued a statement saying Mili and Apang were apprehended because they were likely “to disrupt the forthcoming public meeting” involving Arunachal Chief Minister Pema Khandu and Union Minister M L Khattar on July 9 and “attempt to cause a public order issue”. Itanagar Police added that credible sources also indicated that other members of state-based anti-dam organisations, such as SIFF, were likely to join the duo in this endeavour.
Section 128 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which is security for good behaviour from suspected persons, was also imposed on the duo. Mili and Apang were made to sign a bond of ₹50,000 each for assurance of ‘good behaviour’ and released.
While both the Union and Arunachal Pradesh governments are vigorously pursuing the construction of dams, the state’s people are raising concerns about dam building. Arunachal Pradesh, seen as a powerhouse of hydroelectric energy, is being accused of undermining the rights of locals opposed to dams. Activists accuse the government of planning Corporate Social Responsibility and the displacement of villages arbitrarily, without organising local consultation with communities in case of the proposed 11 GW Siang Multipurpose Project. However, both Arunachal and Union governments argue that that the construction of dams is necessary to counteract the impact of Chinese dam building on the Brahmaputra, which is a trans-boundary river, known as Yarlung Tsangpo in Chinese-controlled Tibet.
Protests, however, are centered on the lack of consultation with local communities and democratic space to dissent. “The state’s repression on its own people is highly condemnable and self-destructive for its growth. Without people’s participation in the decision-making process of development projects like mega dams, the state’s promise of democracy is futile. It is high time the Arunachal government listens to the 50-year-old anti-dam movement in the state. It is clear people won’t let relinquish their ancestral land to multinational corporations for the sake of profits of a few. The government must protect the sovereignty of the state,” said Bhanu Tatak, spokesperson for SIFF.
According to SIFF President, Gegong Jijong, a Gauhati High Court judgement from 2022 led to the cancellation of 44 hydropower as well as dam projects in the Siang Valley. “The activists are upholding the precedent set by the Gauhati High Court and raising awareness. However, it is unfortunate that police are detaining those who are going by the rulebook,” said Jijong, who is also a retired police official.
On July 8, the SIFF, Dibang Resistance, and North East Human Rights (NEHR) formally expressed strong opposition to the proposed 11,000 MW Upper Siang Multipurpose Storage Project (USMP) in Arunachal Pradesh. In a letter to Khattar, the organisations argued that the massive dam threatens their ancestral lands and delicate ecosystems, describing the project as a potential disaster for the region’s environment and its people. They cited the Sikkim dam collapse and Assam floods as examples where studies are undermined to take up mega dam projects.