Forces deployed, action against activist | Hydro project push grows worry, anger in Arunachal villages

'The government is going for big projects saying small projects (90 to 100MW) are not viable. People are angry because the big projects may bring in big problems for the ecology and the environment', an activist says

Guwahati: "The protest will continue till the forces are withdrawn, machines are taken back," a member of Siang Indigenous Farmers' Forum (SIFF) agitating against proposed construction of a dam in the Siang river in Arunachal Pradesh, told DH over phone on Thursday. He, however, requested anonymity and said, "If you write my name, they may register a case against me," he said.

He has reasons for the fear. Two days after the fresh protest began on May 23, the Siang district administration lodged a complaint with police against Ebo Milli, a young lawyer associated with the SIFF.

The SIFF have been leading a protest against deployment of central forces and equipment for a pre-feasibility study to be carried out by the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) at Beging village in Siang district for the Siang multi-purpose project.

Nineteen companies of forces---nine central, nine state police and one women police--have been deployed in Siang and neighbouring Upper Siang district to prevent possible violence by the angry villagers. The villagers have constructed temporary bamboo thatched shelter and have been taking turns for "round-the-clock vigil" against the pre-feasibility study. "We have seen the massive destruction caused by dams in Uttarakhand and Sikkim. If we allow the big dams, our villages here and down the hills will be submerged and there may be large-scale displacements," said the protester belonging to the Adi tribe.

The BJP government in the frontier state is pressing for the project stating that the Narendra Modi government at the Centre wants early execution of the Siang project in order to check the possible threats from the 60,000MW dam China is building in the upper reaches of the river, known as the Yarlung Tsangpo. The river, originating in Tibet, later flows into Assam, where it is called the Brahmaputra.

Amid the protest in Siang, residents in Nukung and Mla villages under the banner Nukung Welfare Society in Anjaw district, bordering China, on Wednesday raised objections against the 1,200MW Kalai-II hydro-electric project after a social impact assessment indicated possible displacements.

On Thursday, Ekhomey Mowo Welfare Society in Dibang Valley district, moved the Deputy Commissioner opposing the 400MW Mihundo hydro electric project. "The project threatens not only to destabilise the geological and ecological balance of Dibang Valley but also the culture and social integrity of our Idu Mishmi community," the society said.

Growing worry:

With the Centre pushing for hydro power projects in order to meet India's renewable energy targets and counter possible threats from the dams in China, the protest against possible adverse impact of the big dams in Arunachal Pradesh, an ecologically sensitive frontier state, is getting louder. "The government is going for big projects saying small projects (90 to 100MW) are not viable. People are angry because the big projects may bring in big problems for the ecology and the environment," Lobsang Gyatso, an anti-dam activist in Tawang, also bordering China, told DH. Gyatso was arrested in 2016 on charges of leading a protest against big dams in Tawang valley. Two persons were killed in Tawang during a protest against Gyatso's arrest.

"The government is deploying central forces to deal with the protesters. Instead, they should come up with an action plan on how to address the possible displacements and the adverse impact," Gyatso said.

Big dams:

The Arunachal government in November 2023 signed MoUs with central PSUs for implementation of at least 13 big hydro power projects (barring the Siang project). Similar MOUs were signed with private companies in the past but they could not move ahead mainly due to strong protests by locals. The government says the 13 projects would generate 13,000MW power and invite investments worth Rs. 1.4 lakh crores to the industrially backward state's economy. A strong agitation, both in Arunachal and the downstream area in neighbouring Assam had stalled the work for 2000MW Subansiri lower hydro project for several years. Two units of the project, situated at Gerukamukh along Assam-Arunachal border, however, are likely to be opened by the NHPC next month.