Indigenous people oppose 3 mega power projects on Siang River

Work of three mega power projects over Siang River in Arunachal Pradesh has run into rough weather, with stiff opposition from the indigenous people who apprehend that the projects would submerge a large chunk of cultivable land, besides jeopardising their existence.

The state government had proposed three power projects in the Siang belt (East, West and Upper Siang districts) with a total installed capacity of 12,450 MW.

Opposing the projects, people of the Upper Siang district under the banner of Siang Indigenous Farmers' Forum (SIFF) on Tuesday submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Nabam Tuki demanding immediate cancellation of the memorandum of agreement inked between the state government and North East Electrical Power Corporation (NEEPCO) on May 28 last for execution of the 3,750 MW Siang Upper-II power project.

"The MoA between NEEPCO and the state government was hurriedly signed without the knowledge of the people affected by the project," SIFF president Gemin Jiji alleged during a press conference here on Tuesday afternoon.

He said, the length of the reservoir for the project was planned at 208.5 km, which if breached, would have a devastating impact not only across the entire Siang belt but in neighbouring Assam as well.

The memorandums for the remaining two projects are yet to be signed.

"We are not totally opposed to power projects. We have never opposed the ongoing construction of 12 small and medium power projects in Upper Siang district. We are only opposing those projects which will invite doomsday for the indigenous people of the Siang belt," he said.

SIFF general secretary Tashik Pangkam, while referring to the devastating floods of 2000 at the Siang belt which left a trail of destruction, said the extent of damage was massive when the rise of water level during the floods was only 30 metres.

"One wonders what could be the scale of devastation if the three proposed dams breached, the heights of which were planned at 145, 257 and 154 metres respectively," he said.

While threatening to launch an agitation if the state government failed to meet its demands, the Forum was adamant on the view that no amount of compensation or mitigation measures could replace the ancestral land of the indigenous tribal people of the area.