[ Tongam Rina ]
PASIGHAT, 31 Aug: Villagers staged a protest against the proposed Siang Lower Hydro Electric Project, which aims to generate over 11,000 MW of electricity from Siang River. The protest was held at Dite Dime, which is one of the three proposed dam sites.
This protest arose as an NHPC team was set to conduct a survey for the project’s feasibility report.
Organised collectively by the All Adi Welfare Society, the Siang Indigenous Farmer’s Forum (SIFF), and the Bango Students Union, the protest drew participants from Komkar, Geku, Sitang, Parong, and Rieu, all set to be affected by the proposed project. The villagers said that they discovered the planned survey through social media, which spurred their opposition.
SIFF Siang unit joint secretary Tabeng Siram expressed strong dissatisfaction with the government’s decision to conduct the survey without prior notification to those affected. Parong, is the first proposed dam site with 120 households. Siram criticised the government for not communicating with the villagers who are set to be impacted.
Prior to the state legislative elections, Chief Minister Pema Khandu had assured that no dam would proceed without the consent of the people. During an election rally in January in Mariyang in Upper Siang and Pangin in Siang distrct, Khandu had promised that the Siang hydropower project would move forward only after thorough consultations with the affected communities.
However, Siram and others feel this promise has been disregarded, leading to disappointment and a sense of betrayal among the villagers.
Siram voiced the distress of many anxious villagers, questioning where they would go if displaced from their land.
On 19 August, the Special Branch of the police headquarters directed the Pasighat branch to assess security threats related to the survey and core drilling for the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project.
The identified locations for drilling include Parong, Dite Dime, and Uggeng. The NHPC plans to start survey and access path construction at these sites within 15 days of receiving security clearances from the state government.
The government’s initial plans for the Lower Siang HEP (2,700 MW) and the Siang Upper HEP Stage-II (3,750 MW) had already faced resistance before being expanded to 11,000 MW without new studies.
In between, the Niti Aayog had proposed a 10,000 MW project, envisioning a 300-metre-high dam to manage floods and erosion.
Earlier, the Siang Indigenous Farmers Forum, Dibang Resistance, and North East Human Rights had urged the Indian government to consider alternative energy solutions that better suit the region’s ecological context. While the Adi Bane Kebang initially agreed to a pre-feasibility report, this decision has sparked protests from various organisations.
With the government appearing unresponsive to the affected villagers’ concerns, further protests are anticipated in the region, which has a strong history of opposing mega dams on the revered Siang river. Meanwhile, villagers from Parong have lodged an FIR against the NHPC and the executing agencies for conducting the survey and PFR in violation of their constitutional and legal rights.
