[ Bengia Ajum ]
HAWAI, 3 Oct: A citizen of Anjaw district, Roshman Tawsik, lodged an FIR at the police station here on Thursday against Shilpa Shinde, chairperson of WAPCOS Ltd, a scientist from the EIA Survey Committee of WAPCOS Ltd, Anjaw Deputy Commissioner Millo Kojin, and Land Management Secretary Audesh Kumar Singh.
In his FIR, Tawsik, who is also the chairman of the Nukung Welfare Society, alleged that despite sending a legal notice to WAPCOS and writing letters to the DC and the land management secretary, raising concerns over the manner in which the environmental impact assessment (EIA) was conducted for the proposed Kalai-II hydropower project, no one has responded to his concerns.
The 1,200 MW Kalai-II Hydroelectric Project in Anjaw district is being executed by THDC India Limited. The EIA was conducted in August this year. In his FIR, Tawsik sought a thorough investigation into the matter, including an examination of the EIA reports (2013 and 2025), email correspondences, and administrative records. He further called for appropriate legal action against the persons named in the FIR to prevent further harm to the environment, affected communities, and scheduled tribe (ST) lands. He has requested registration of cases under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Earlier, in his legal notice, Tawsik accused WAPCOS of gross negligence in preparing and submitting the EIA report to obtain environmental clearance. He alleged that fraudulent methods were used to clear the EIA and claimed that the environment would be severely affected by the project.
Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Kojin, speaking to this daily, stated that the EIA was conducted by the Arunachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board (APSPCB) in a free and fair manner, and that the entire process was video-recorded.
“There is no question of using fraudulent methods. Utmost care was taken to address the concerns of all the project-affected families during the public hearing conducted for the EIA. Everything was clarified on the spot, and all affected families were given an opportunity to raise their doubts,” said Kojin.
He also mentioned that when the EIA was conducted, all stakeholders, including project-affected families, local MLA-cum-minister Dasanglu Pul, representatives of the APSPCB, and others were present.
