Amidst the strong resistance against signing of memorandum of agreement between government of Arunachal and central public sector undertakings, Union Power Minister RK Singh Saturday said people affected by hydropower projects (HEP) in Arunachal Pradesh will be compensated handsomely. Singh was present when the government of Arunachal inked memorandums of agreement MoA with three central public sector undertakings for the development of 13 stalled hydropower projects in the state. These projects were earlier allotted to private developers who failed to execute it. The government scrapped the MoAs and signed fresh ones.
The resistances against major hydropower projects are coming from Dibang and Siang basins. The offer to handsomely compensate may not be enough to end the resistance. The affected people need more than money. They are going to lose their homes and ancestral lands. There are deep emotional connections with the lands and it will be difficult to convince them to part ways with it. The government will have to do more to convince them. The first step will be to engage them in dialogues. There should be debate and discussion between the government, developers and the affected people. The government and developers will have to listen to the grievances of the people. Simply offering money won’t resolve the impasse.