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The Print
a day ago
- Business
- The Print
With Arunachal's Siang dam project facing delays & protests, how Centre plans to win over local residents
Flowing through Tibet, the Yarlung Tsangpo enters India in Arunachal Pradesh, where it is known as Siang, the main tributary of Brahmaputra. Along with Siang, other tributaries, including Dibang and Lohit, join the Brahmaputra in Assam. Aiming to expedite the project, the Centre has now come up with a Rs 350 crore Special Development and Livelihood programme, along with the Arunachal Pradesh government, to win over the local residents' trust before going ahead with the pre-feasibility study, three people aware of the development told ThePrint. New Delhi: Even as China announced Friday that it is starting construction on one of the world's largest hydropower dam projects over the Brahmaputra river in Tibet, where it is known as Yarlung Tsangpo, India's counter to it—the proposed 11,200 MW Upper Siang multipurpose project in Arunachal Pradesh—remains delayed with stiff opposition from locals. While the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti is funding the project, the state government will implement it on the ground, a person familiar with the matter said. On 21 May, residents of Beging, a small village downstream of Siang, had stopped a team of National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) officials from conducting pre-feasibility tests at Parong, one of the three potential sites identified for the dam. The other two alternative sites are at Dite Dime, 8 km upstream of Siang river, and Ugeng in Upper Siang. NHPC, the state-owned power firm, has been tasked with preparing the pre-feasibility report and detailed project report. Based on the pre-feasibility tests, which will assess the geology at the three possible sites, NHPC will finalise the final location. The villagers had damaged the equipment, including drilling machines brought by the NHPC team when they had arrived at the Parong site, forcing them to retreat. The monsoon followed soon after, which put a stop to all construction-related work till at least September. Making use of this lean period, the Centre and state government want to proceed with their public outreach, aimed at gaining the local residents' trust. A second person aware of the developments told ThePrint that the developments around the Siang project are being closely monitored by the Prime Minister's Office. 'The Jal Shakti ministry will shortly approve the Rs 350 crore required for the programme. There is a growing realisation that without the locals' support, it will be difficult to move forward. There will be unnecessary delays,' the person said. The Development and Livelihood programme will cover 26 villages in Siang and Upper Siang districts, who will be partially or fully affected by the dam. The second person quoted above said that as part of this programme, the residents will be trained in horticulture activities, animal husbandry, handicraft and bamboo crafting, and honey bee keeping, and so on. Some of the villagers will also be assisted in converting their homes into homestays for tourists. 'Several activities have been planned to skill the locals, provide them equipment, etc. to help the people of submerged villages. The training will ensure that they are gainfully employed once they are resettled elsewhere from their villages once the dam construction starts,' the person said. The programme will cover approximately 10,000 people, including 5,000 women, the first person said, adding that the government will also help in constructing hospitals and schools in the areas that these villagers will be resettled in. The NHPC has also been told by the central and state governments to hire a public relations agency to disseminate information about the benefits that will accrue from the project once it is completed. A state government official told ThePrint that this is not the first time that the Centre has planned such confidence-building measures. 'Two years ago also, the Centre had mooted a proposal to develop three model villages affected by the project with Rs 161 crore funds. However, the programme never took off,' the official said. Ever since China announced that it will construct one of the world's largest hydropower dams at a cost of $170 billion last December, there have been concerns about its likely impact in downstream areas in India, including Siang. Though the Siang Upper multipurpose storage project was proposed long back, it has seen humongous delays. The Centre has not been able to identify the dam site yet amid stiff opposition from the people over its adverse impact on the environment and their livelihoods. The Centre began pushing the project again after reports about the 60,000 MW hydropower dam on Yarlung Tsangpo. The dam will reportedly be bigger than the other mega dam China has built—the Three Gorges dam on the Yangtze river. It is expected to generate 300 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity. (Edited by Mannat Chugh) Also Read: Once brought in as 'historic reform', National Medical Commission is showing same symptoms as predecessor


Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
India keeping close watch on China's dam construction
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.


The Print
2 days ago
- Business
- The Print
Patel Engineering secures Rs 240-cr order from NHPC for Teesta-V project
The project is located in the South District of Sikkim and is scheduled to be completed within 18 months. The order involves modification of diversion tunnel into a tunnel spillway arrangement – civil and hydro mechanical works for package 6 Teesta-V power station, Patel Engineering said in a statement. New Delhi, Jul 21 (PTI) Patel Engineering on Monday said it has bagged an order worth Rs 240 crore from state-owned NHPC for civil and hydro mechanical works at Teesta-V project in Sikkim. 'We have received the letter of award from NHPC for this strategically important hydro power project. Our deep experience in the North Eastern region positions us strongly to execute this project with precision and efficiency,' its Managing Director Kavita Shirvaikar said. NHPC's Teesta Stage-VI HEP (Hydroelectric Project) is a run-of-river (RoR) scheme located in Sirwani village, Sikkim, to harness the power potential of the Teesta River Basin in a cascade manner. Mumbai-based Patel Engineering Ltd has a significant presence in the hydropower, tunnelling, and irrigation sectors. PTI ABI ABI SHW This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.


News18
2 days ago
- Politics
- News18
Arunachal CM pushes for local consensus on Siang Upper Multipurpose Project
Itanagar, Jul 21 (PTI) Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Monday underscored the importance of local people's participation in the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP). He told officials to ensure that indigenous voices are integrated into every stage of the hydropower initiative. Chairing a high-level review meeting with Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein, chief secretary Manish Kumar Gupta, and senior officers from the hydro power development department at the civil secretariat here, Khandu said, 'Their (indigenous) feedback must be duly considered at every stage." The statement comes amid growing signs of local acceptance for the controversial project, with villagers from Riga and Pangkang (Kumku) recently signing MoUs in support of a Pre-Feasibility Report (PFR) of the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project. The chief minister expressed satisfaction over reports that villagers from the project-affected areas are coming forward to support the preparation of the PFR, terming it a positive development for participatory hydropower planning. The SUMP is a proposed 11,000 MW run-of-the-river hydroelectric project on the Siang River, one of the major tributaries of the Brahmaputra. Originally conceived by NHPC in 2009, it is envisioned not just as a power generator but also a critical tool for irrigation and flood moderation. The reservoir, if built to full scale, would be among the largest in the country, with a storage capacity of nearly 9 billion cubic metres. PTI COR UPL UPL RG view comments First Published: July 21, 2025, 20:30 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.


Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Patel Engineering wins ₹240 crore NHPC order for Teesta-V hydro project in Sikkim
Synopsis Patel Engineering has secured a Rs 240 crore order from NHPC for civil and hydro mechanical works at the Teesta-V project in Sikkim. The project involves modifying a diversion tunnel into a tunnel spillway arrangement. Scheduled for completion within 18 months, this strategically important hydropower project will leverage Patel Engineering's expertise in the North Eastern region.