[Indu Chukhu]
ITANAGAR, 27 Mar: The Siang Indigenous Farmers’ Forum (SIFF) has asked the government to withdraw the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) deployed for conducting survey to prepare the pre-feasibility report (PFR) for the proposed Siang upper multipurpose project (SUMP) in Siang Valley.
On 21 March, the SIFF executive members wrote a letter to the hydropower joint secretary, in which they requested the joint secretary to immediately withdraw the CAPF.
“Earlier, BJP general secretary Nalong Mize had said that no CRPF/CAPF personnel have been deployed. However, there is deployment of force at BK Mission School in Boleng,” said an SIFF member.
“Imposing of the dam against the people’s consent is a clear violation of the Gauhati High Court’s PIL Order No 10/2014,” the SIFF said.
The SIFF also requested the Arunachal Pradesh government to present the project plan of the proposed SUMP “for transparency and further engagement with the public.”
The SIFF also demanded that, “until the project plan is publicly disclosed or stakeholders’ consent is sought, PFR drilling activities should not be started.”
Earlier, on 21 February this year, the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation general manager, in the presence of the commissioner to the chief minister, had verbally said that the survey for the SUMP had been completed.
Meanwhile, Lamok Padun has been appointed as the new president of the SIFF after former SIFF president Gegong Jijong voluntarily resigned.
Jijong had reportedly accepted the MoU for the Siang upper multipurpose dam survey without proper consultation with the project-affected villagers and the public, said a member of the SIFF.
Earlier, on 9 and 11 March, a letter was submitted to the DHDP joint secretary, requesting for discussion regarding the pre-feasibility report for the proposed SUMP.
“Our stand is very clear: no dam, no survey. The former president’s allowing the survey was a huge negligence,” an SIFF member said.
Hydropower Joint Secretary Hage Lailang had proposed the MoU for the pre-feasibility survey for the dam.
On 21 March, former SIFF president Jijong had written a letter to the hydropower joint secretary, informing that, after conducting meetings in Yingkiong and Geku, the executive committee of the SIFF had proposed two points: that the state government shall not sign any MoU and MoA with any promoter without the consent of the project-affected families and the SIFF, and that, since the SUMP is a national project, a representative from the central government not below the rank of joint secretary witness the MoU signed between the government and the SIFF.
The SIFF said also that the two points “are supposed to be submitted to the government after consulting with the project-affected families.”
Jijong in his letter expressed regret that he had “submitted the proposal by the hydropower joint secretary for survey of the dam before getting confirmation from the project-affected families.”
He said that, in view of the opposition by the project-affected families, he was withdrawing his earlier letter to the joint secretary.
Meanwhile, SIFF legal adviser Bhanu Tatak welcomed the joining of Padun as the SIFF’s president, and said that the forum “forges its strong faith in his dedicated leadership.”
“We have our deepest gratitude for our outgoing president Gegong Jijong, who has served the people of Siang his whole life with integrity and dedication,” Tatak said.
A series of public protests were staged in the Siang valley following an order by the home department to deploy CAPF personnel for conducting pre-feasibility survey for the SUMP.
