India keeping close watch on China's dam construction

Hindustan Times

6 days ago

India is keeping a close watch on China's construction of what is set to be the world's largest hydropower dam on the upper reaches of the Brahmaputra river and could fast-track a multipurpose dam in Arunachal Pradesh to act as a buffer against sudden changes in water flows, people familiar with the matter said on Monday. Chinese President Xi Jinping(Agency)
Chinese Premier Li Qiang presided over a ceremony on Saturday marking the start of construction on the $167-billion dam on Yarlung Tsangpo river in Tibet, according to reports in China's state-run media. The Motuo hydropower station is set to overtake the Three Gorges dam as the world's largest.
There was no reaction from Indian officials to the development, though people familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity that New Delhi had conveyed its concerns over the project to Beijing through diplomatic channels. The project has drawn criticism for its potential impact on the environment of Tibet and on millions of people in India and Bangladesh.
Concerns about the dam could spur India to fast-track a multipurpose dam in Arunachal Pradesh, known as the Siang Upper multipurpose storage project, to act as a buffer against sudden changes in the flows of the Siang and Brahmaputra rivers, the people said.
The Chinese dam is located around a 'great bend' on the Yarlung Tsangpo river, which is known in India as the Brahmaputra, a lifeline for Assam. The Siang, which flows through Arunachal Pradesh, is the Brahmaputra's main tributary that connects it to the Yarlung Tsangpo.
In June 2022, the government entrusted the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) Ltd, India's largest state-backed power firm, with preparing a preliminary feasibility report and a detailed project report for the proposed Upper Siang dam.
'The Centre has been in discussions with the Arunachal Pradesh government on the issue of the Upper Siang project. The initial surveys have not yet begun. It will be better to speed up these works because the dam will need to be built for not just power but to protect against any future changes in the flow of Indian rivers,' an official from the river basin management wing of the water ministry said.
While there was no official reaction to the start of construction of the dam in Tibet, the people pointed to the position taken by the external affairs ministry on the matter during a media briefing on January 3.
'As a lower riparian state with established user rights to the waters of the river, we have consistently expressed, through expert-level as well as diplomatic channels, our views and concerns to the Chinese side over mega projects on rivers in their territory,' external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at the briefing.
'These have been reiterated along with the need for transparency and consultation with downstream countries…The Chinese side has been urged to ensure that the interests of downstream states of the Brahmaputra are not harmed by activities in upstream areas. We will continue to monitor and take necessary measures to protect our interests,' he had said.
Minister of state for external affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh had told Parliament in February that the government 'carefully monitors' all developments related to the Brahmaputra river, including plans by China to develop hydropower projects, and takes 'necessary measures to protect the interests of the nation'.
Singh had also said that cumulative impact assessment studies have been undertaken on major tributaries of the Brahamputra river in northeast India to plan an 'effective strategy to mitigate the possible ecological and socio-economic impacts of hydro-electric projects in the river basin'.
The $167-billion dam on the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo could produce 300 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity annually, three times more energy than China's Three Gorges Dam, currently the world's largest.
However, native tribes, such as Arunachal Pradesh's Adi community, have protested against the proposed Siang Upper multipurpose storage project, which has an envisaged output of 11,200 MW, due to fears of displacement and loss of livelihood.
Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu on May 30 urged people of the state to cooperate in conducting a preliminary survey. 'Only the pre-feasibility report can say what will be the extent of submergence and what will be the exact location. Hydropower will only be an offshoot of the Upper Siang project. It will be a defence mechanism…if China releases water from the dam, after 10-15 years, entire Siang and Assam will be impacted,' he said at a local event.
The NHPC, in an internal note seen by HT, has said the firm must meet local aspirations to build the project. In the note to the government, the firm said a project of 'such a magnitude can only be developed without any hindrance when the society by and large supports the project in every step of project construction. It shall therefore be ethical on part of NHPC to meet the aspirations of the local populations, which is one of the pillars of sustainable social development,' the note said.