ITANAGAR, 23 Jul: The Shillong (Meghalaya)-based North East Dialogue Forum (NEDF) has urged China halt the plan to build Yarlung Tsangpo dam until and unless a proper assessment is conducted.
In a press statement, the Forum said that millions of people, including farmers, forest dwellers, experts, human right activists, who depend on Brahmaputra for their survival, have raised serious concern and worry due to the construction of the 60,000 MW dam on Yarlung Tsangpo river and India’s proposed 56,000 MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP) in Arunachal Pradesh.
It said that the local people, including the Adi communities in Arunachal Pradesh, depend on the Siang river for their livelihood. They fear that the dam, if constructed, would submerge their lands, displace people and cause irreversible impact on the environment and the ecosystem.
The forum demanded conducting a thorough impact assessment, including upstream, downstream, environmental, economic, social, cultural, human rights and cumulative impacts before constructing both dams.
The Forum urged the Chinese government to ensure free, prior, and informed consent of the affected people and ensure the participation of the representatives from the local communities in the assessment process, and respect the human rights defenders.
It also urged Beijing to allow representatives of the CSOs, journalists, academics, human rights activists to engage with UN mechanisms in Geneva and New York without threat, intimidation, harassment, and attack on their organizations by blocking funding.
Further, the forum urged to the Special Rapporteur on Right of Indigenous People, Special Rapporteur on Right to food, Special Rapporteur on Freedom of speech, Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Association and assembly, EU South Asia Delegation in New Delhi and Beijing to communicate with China through their diplomatic channels to issue safeguard measures and guidelines under International Law while planning both the dams.
It also urged the UN Human Rights Council to communicate with China to ratify the UN Water Course Convention of 17 August 1997.