Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, 10 Jan: Anini-based Idu Mishmi Elite Society (IMES) said it has decided to say no to construction of hydropower projects in Dibang Valley district.
Referring to the Dibang Multipurpose Project (DMP), among several other hydro projects in the district, the IMES said that the DMP “comprises a slew of discrepancies in the environment impact assessment and social impact assessment reports and the state government’s proposals.”
Expressing concern that the project would displace several members of the Idu Mishmi tribe from their community land, the IMES said, “The current imbroglio which has stalled the rightful compensation of the local population as a result of NHPC’s unscrupulous schemes and designs has been an eye opener. Therefore, there shall be no more hydropower projects in Dri and Mathu river valleys, for which MoUs/MoAs have been signed by the GoAP unilaterally without any consultation or dialogue with the people of the district who would be affected by the projects.”
On the matter of land acquisition processes in Dibang Valley, the IMES said that the government has been “ambiguous and directionless in adopting laws on the right to fair compensation and transparency in land acquisition in the district,” and pointed out that the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 was a “flawed legislation based on the arbitrary norms which assumes several controversial dimensions with major shortcomings.”
“Therefore, no private or community land in Dibang Valley must be acquired outside the provisions of the LARR Act, 2013. There shall be no disparity in land acquisition process,” it said.
Also claiming that the district administration and the state government have adopted a unilateral action in declaring the boundaries of the Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary, totalling an area of 4,149 sq kms, which is a whopping 45 percent of the total 9,192 sq kms of the entire district, the society sought de-reservation of the sanctuary.
