ITANAGAR, 16 Aug: The Siang Indigenous Farmers’ Forum (SIFF) on Saturday challenged the validity of household approvals backing the pre-feasibility report (PFR) for the proposed 11,000 mw Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP), alleging that the number of supporting signatories has been “grossly exaggerated.”
Addressing the media, SIFF spokesperson Tagori Mize said an RTI reply revealed that only 277 out of 429 households in Riga village endorsed the project, contrary to the 329 claimed by the Siang Upper Project Multipurpose Dam Committee (SUPMDC).
“Several names included in the list do not own land in the project area, making the consent process flawed,” Mize alleged, citing 17 cases of false entries.
On 5 August, the SUPMDC had announced that villagers had given their ‘irrevocable consent’ for the PFR study.
The SIFF claimed that the procedure lacked credibility, and accused the committee of spreading misinformation about corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds and upfront payments, which the Hydropower Department has denied through RTI findings.
The forum has announced a traditional bogum boka kebang meeting in Geku on 20 August, calling on community organisations, student bodies and legislators to support its demand for amending Article 371H of the Constitution, which grants special provisions to the state.
The project, conceived by the NHPC in 2009, is envisioned as one of the largest hydropower projects in India, with a proposed reservoir capacity of nearly 9 billion cubic metres.
Alongside power generation, it aims to support irrigation and flood moderation in the Siang basin. (PTI)
