Arunachal: Groups Urge President Murmu to Halt Troops, Survey for Siang Hydropower Project

UPPER SIANG: More than 100 civil society organizations and environmental groups have urged President Droupadi Murmu to withdraw paramilitary forces recently deployed to facilitate a pre-feasibility survey for the 11,000-megawatt Upper Siang Hydropower Project on the Siang River in Arunachal Pradesh.

In general, the Upper Siang is seen as a counter-insurgency move against the hydropower developments carried out by China on the Yarlung Zangbo river, including a massive 60,000 MW dam project in Tibet's Medog County.

The local tribes, mainly the Adis, are concerned about getting evicted and the degradation of their environment. Protests have erupted in the area since the arrival of the CAPF personnel to prepare for the survey.

Chief Minister Pema Khandu stated that the project would not proceed without local consent, yet activists claim the recent actions contradict earlier assurances.

In a collective letter to the President, 109 organizations, mainly based in the Himalayan regions of India, pointed out that the project would imperil indigenous rights, biodiversity, and the environment. Organizations pointed out that India had ratified international conventions, such as the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, giving communities the right to consent over activities affecting their lands and livelihoods.

This Siang Valley, with its Dihang-Dibang Biosphere Reserve, is considered an ecologically rich region. Protestors argue that this action goes against the rights of local people and creates a further schism between the government and the people.

The letter drives home the risks of hydropower projects in the seismically active and climatically vulnerable Himalayan region. Past disasters, such as the 2013 floods in Uttarakhand, the 2021 avalanche in Chamoli, and the recent 2023 glacial lake outburst in Sikkim, have highlighted the dangers of large-scale projects. These events have accounted for hundreds of crores in loss of life, destruction of infrastructure, and financial losses.

Scientific studies warn that such regions are increasingly prone to floods, landslides, and other climate-induced disasters. A NASA study projects a 30% rise in landslide hazards in the Himalayas by the century's end. Blasting and excavation for dam construction exacerbate these risks, making areas around dams particularly vulnerable.

The letter further questions hydropower projects' financial and operational viability in the Himalayas. Reduced river discharge, delays in project completion, and inadequate geological assessments have afflicted projects like the Subansiri Lower Hydropower Project, resulting in heavy losses for entities like NHPC and burdening taxpayers.

The civil society groups argue that the Upper Siang project epitomizes a larger imperative for India to rethink its hydropower aspirations in the fragile Himalayan environment. They urge the government to focus on sustainable development, community consent, and environmental protection over potentially hazardous mega-dam projects.  The Siang Valley stands at the crossroads of development and conservation, with its people and ecosystems caught in the balance as the debate unfolds.

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