Not without resistance

Context: The governments stand is that the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project
(SUMP) is not just any hydropower project, but an effort essential to save the
river by countering the effects of China’s dam building activities further
upstream in Tibet. As China has approved the construction of worlds largest
hydropower dam, kicking off the long-talked about project on the eastern rim of
the Tibetan plateau, close to Arunachal Pradesh, that has the potential to
affect millions downstream in India & Bangladesh. Authorities are pressing
for a pre-feasibility report (PFR), as the belt has become a hotspot of
activity and deepening fault lines.

Key points

·       Overview: Activists are
protesting the Upper Siang Hydropower Project in Arunachal.

·       About
Upper Siang Multipurpose Storage Project: The Upper Siang project is
a proposed 11,000 MW hydropower project on the Siang River in Arunachal
Pradesh. Initially proposed as two separate projects, it was consolidated into
one larger project in 2017, to be built by the National Hydroelectric Power
Corporation (NHPC), featuring a 300-metre-high dam.

·       Siang
river: The Siang, originating near Mount Kailash in Tibet (Tsangpo), flows over
1,000 km eastward, enters Arunachal Pradesh as the Siang, and later becomes the
Brahmaputra in Assam.

·       Strategic
Importance: The Upper Siang project is seen as a strategic move to counter China’s
hydel projects on the Tsangpo, particularly a 60,000 MW ‘super dam’ in Tibet’s
Medog county. This super dam’s capacity is nearly 3x that of the Three Gorges
Dam in China and is intended to divert water to northern China.

·       Environmental
and Social Concerns: Anti-dam organizations express concerns about the
project’s environmental and social impact in their memorandum.

The memorandum
highlights the threat to delicate ecosystems, wildlife habitats, and
biodiversity in Arunachal Pradesh, which already hosts numerous dams.

The activists
are particularly worried about the displacement of communities, as the project
could submerge over 300 villages of the Adi tribe, including the district
headquarters of Yingkiong.

Activists are
also wary of the project’s portrayal as a national interest endeavor and are
troubled by a provision in the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, which
exempts strategic projects within 100 km from India’s borders from clearance
requirements.

·       Forest
(Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023: Land Under the Purview of
the Act - Defines two categories of land under its purview:

Ø  Land declared as
forest under the Indian Forest Act or any other law or notified as a forest
after 25th October 1980.

Ø  Land converted
from forest to non-forest use before 12th December 1996.

Exemptions from
the Act - Up to 0.10 hectares of forest land for connectivity purposes along roads
and railways. Up to 10 hectares for security-related infrastructure. Up to 5
hectares in Left Wing Extremism Affected Districts for public utility projects.

Permitted
Activities in Forest Land - Activities like zoos, ecotourism facilities,
silvi-cultural operations, and specified surveys are exempted from non-forest
purposes.

Assignment/Leasing
of Forest Land - Extends the prerequisite for obtaining prior approval from the central
government for the assignment of forest land to any entity, broadening the
scope beyond private entities.