Assam group claims victory after ADB cancels loan for solar project

The Hindu

3 days ago

A group representing three indigenous communities has claimed its sustained campaign led to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) cancelling a controversial solar project in Assam's Karbi Anglong district.
The ADB, however, stated that the decision to cancel the $434.25 million loan and the accompanying technical assistance of $1 million from the Clean Energy Fund under the Clean Energy Financing Partnership Facility followed a request for withdrawal from the Ministry of Finance on May 23.
The ADB approved the loan for the Assam Solar Project on October 24, 2024, 'to support the construction of a large-scale solar photovoltaic facility integrated with a battery energy storage system pilot project'. The technical assistance, it said, was designed to build the capacity of the Assam Power Distribution Company Limited in renewable energy, develop a solar project pipeline for private investment, and promote renewable energy skills and livelihoods.
'The loan and project agreements were not signed. The ADB received a letter from the Ministry of Finance requesting the withdrawal of the loan,' the ADB said, adding that the loan was cancelled after the government's request.
The Karbi Anglong Solar Power Project Affected People's Rights Committee stated that the project, intended to generate 500 megawatts of power, was to be established on 2,400 hectares of land, displacing approximately 20,000 Adivasi, Karbi, and Naga families. The committee represented these communities that refused to give up their ancestral lands.
The committee said the project was poised to become one of the largest land grabs in Assam's history. 'These are primarily agricultural, forest, and customary lands with deep cultural, spiritual, and livelihood significance for the indigenous communities, protected under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India,' it added.
'Constitution within Constitution'
The committee said that the ADB approved the investment in October 2024 despite opposition from the affected indigenous communities and in violation of their constitutional safeguards. It said that the ADB failed to obtain free, prior, and informed consent from the stakeholders by holding consultations in only nine of the 23 villages that would have been impacted.
'Key documents like the Initial Environmental Examination and the Resettlement and Indigenous Peoples Plan were not publicly disclosed or translated into local languages, denying access to critical information. Community members also reported intimidation and threats, including fraudulent land claims by outsiders seeking compensation,' the committee said.
'The Sixth Schedule is a constitution within the Constitution of India, giving rights to us indigenous people, but here, we saw how the authorities violated the basics of the Sixth Schedule. The ruling government used political clout to repress and illegally change laws and rights forcefully,' Bikram Hanse, a Karbi Anglong resident and general secretary of the All-Party Hills' Leader Conference, said.
'Our people have shown their strength, and this united struggle will continue,' he asserted.
The committee said that the authorities manipulated documents to claim only 8.2% (195 hectares) of the 2,400 hectares marked for the project were customarily owned by the indigenous communities.
Environmentally, the solar park would have endangered bamboo forests essential to elephant migration, polluted water bodies, and disrupted biodiversity near the Deopani and Nambor wildlife sanctuaries.
Environment and human rights groups said the victory of the indigenous communities against the Assam Solar Project could stimulate movements against hydropower and mining projects elsewhere in the country. There has already been a weakening of environmental and social safeguards for large solar and other projects across the country, they said.