Arunachal Pradesh’s Siang district is gearing up to receive Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) in a bid to begin Pre-Feasibility Report survey work for the proposed 11,000 megawatt Upper Siang hydropower project, which has faced continuing resistance on the ground. This year, there has been a renewed push by authorities in their pre-construction activities for the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP), and there have been multiple attempts by the District Administration to lay the ground for surveys for a Pre-Feasibility Report – a preliminary analysis to assess the probable cost of a project and its feasibility in a given area. NHPC, the hydropower PSU supposed to build the project, has chosen three proposed sites along the Siang river — Ugeng, Dite Dime, and Parong. There has been a push, particularly since June, to begin the survey but these efforts have been stalled by local residents opposing the project amid fears regarding displacement and environmental impact. On November 29, Chief Minister Pema Khandu chaired a meeting on the project with other ministers and legislators from the Siang and Upper Siang districts, after which he said they “resolved to expedite the construction of the project”. On Tuesday, Siang Deputy Commissioner P N Thungon told The Indian Express that the administration is preparing to accommodate CAPF troops in Riew and Parong villages. “Considering the national importance of this project, 70-80% of the people here have agreed to it because of its long-term benefits, but there is a section that is still opposing it. The PFR needs to be done, which will involve 3-4 months of work including drilling to see if the dam can be built at the site, but because of some negative elements, it has not happened so far,” the deputy commissioner said. “If some people are not allowing it to happen, then the government has to take steps to ensure that it does. This move is not to intimidate villagers, but to protect them and those who work on the surveys from any kind of mischief,” Thungon said. For nearly a month, residents have been keeping vigil at Riew and Parong to stop surveyors who might come to the sites. Bhanu Tatak, legal adviser for the Siang Indigenous Farmers’ Forum, which has been leading the resistance to the project, said: “Women and youth have been stationed there as guards, taking turns round the clock… They have been doing this for almost a month, but no surveyors have come yet. It is very unfortunate that the paramilitary is being brought here, because all protests and demonstrations have been completely peaceful. There is no place for violence among the protesters, so this is being done to create fear psychosis among the people.” Earlier, notices had been issued against several government employees in Upper Siang district for allegedly joining the protests against the project. There have also been meetings by the Upper Siang district administration asking people to cooperate with the government in conducting the surveys, and the NHPC has sanctioned a Rs 325-crore CSR package for the region to drum up support for the project. SUMP has been projected as a strategic imperative to counter China’s hydel projects on the Tsangpo, and to act as a reservoir to counter the effects of a potentially reduced flow because of a planned 60,000 MW ‘super dam’ in Tibet’s Medog county, right on the border with Arunachal Pradesh.
