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The Arunachal Pradesh government has deployed a team of Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) close to the proposed site of the 12.5 GW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP), touted to be India’s largest dam, according to an official document. The move, to conduct a survey for a pre-feasibility report (PFR) on SUMP, has angered locals opposed to the dam.
Several women from villages close to the proposed site on the Siang river, the transboundary main channel of the Brahmaputra, continue to guard the site, opposing the dam and any survey over the river.
According to a letter issued to the Circle Officer, Redo-Perging subdivision on December 6 by Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Siang district, PN Thungon, a team of CAPF is expected to be stationed in Riew village, in the purview of conduct of a PFR regarding the SUMP.
“Therefore, you are requested to initiate necessary action for repair and maintenance of Government Primary School, on self-help basis,” the DC stated in the letter. A source in Boleng confirmed the development but added that the CAPF is yet to be deployed.
Residents from Pareng and several other villages have been guarding a portion of the Siang, shouting slogans of ‘No Survey, No Dam’.
Bhanu Tatak, legal advisor of the Siang Indigenous Farmers’ Forum (SIFF), told Down To Earth that the deployment of the CAPF goes against a Gauhati High Court order that cancelled proposed dams on the Siang.
“The people of the Siang valley have been against dams on the river for over four decades. Our people have been peacefully protesting against the surveys by any government agency or a dam developer. People do have the right to protest against this decision in order to protect their homes and hearths,” Tatak, whose organisation represents the interests of farmers from Arunachal’s Adi community, added.
In 2022, the Gauhati High Court cancelled all 44 dams proposed on the Siang river. The petition had alleged that Arunachal Pradesh government took upfront payments by means of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) for over 230 dams across the Himalayan state and a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) enquiry against the MoA. In July 2022, even the Arunachal Government told the high court that all 44 dams had been cancelled by the state.
In 2017, however, central thinktank NITI Aayog floated a new plan for a 1 GW dam on the Siang, which went through several changes. Recently, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister, Pema Khandu highlighted that a projected power generation capacity surpassing 13,500 megawatts with 26 per cent equity share, will receive 12 per cent free power. “The damming of the Siang river, known as Yarlung Tsangpo in its upper reaches by our neighbouring country [China] poses significant threats, including flash floods and water scarcity. These risks could have devastating consequences for downstream areas in the Siang region and beyond,” he later stated in a social media post.
Although Khandu has maintained that there is unanimous support for the dam among the people in the Siang valley, SIFF and several students’ organisations have accused the Arunachal government as well as the dam developers for not conducting any consultation.