Why Did Arunachal CM Thank Riga Villagers for Supporting 11,000 MW Hydropower Project?

Itanagar, July 12 (NationPress) The Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Pema Khandu, conveyed his heartfelt appreciation to the residents of Riga village in the Siang district for their support in endorsing the government's initiative to formalize a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) related to the Pre-Feasibility Report (PFR) for the anticipated Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP), a hydropower venture projected to generate 11,000 MW of electricity.

According to an official from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), on Saturday, the villagers of Riga signed the MoU with the state government during a meeting on Friday that included Chief Minister Khandu, along with Ojing Tasing, the Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, and Chief Secretary Manish Kumar Gupta.

The villagers committed unwavering support to both the Government of India and the Arunachal Pradesh government for conducting the necessary pre-feasibility survey, drilling, and other preparations for the PFR of the SUMP. Khandu expressed his gratitude to the residents of Riga for their remarkable wisdom and maturity in achieving a consensus among most residents, which the CMO official highlighted.

Notably, over 80 percent of the village's households have agreed to back the pre-feasibility survey.

Last month, the Arunachal Pradesh Cabinet acknowledged the concerns raised by certain community members regarding the PFR for the proposed SUMP, which has been recognized as a ‘National Project’ since its declaration by the Union government in 2008.

The Cabinet, led by the Chief Minister, also resolved to urge the Centre to allocate a special development package for the Siang and Upper Siang Districts, focusing on beneficiary-oriented social development for these twin districts. The Tsangpo River, known as Siang in Arunachal Pradesh, and as Brahmaputra in Assam and Jamuna in Bangladesh, traverses through Bangladesh before merging into the Bay of Bengal. In China, it is referred to as the Yarlung Tsangpo and is recognized as the longest river in Tibet and the fifth longest in China.

The SUMP is a vital initiative aimed at alleviating the impacts of downstream flooding affecting Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Bangladesh, along with addressing other environmental challenges.

Recently, the Arunachal Pradesh government voiced its concerns regarding China's extensive 137-billion USD hydroelectric project, projected to generate 60,000 MW of electricity on the Yarlung Tsangpo River, located in the upper reaches of the Siang River in China.

Arunachal Pradesh's Deputy Chief Minister, Chowna Mein, who oversees Power and Non-Conventional Energy Resources, stated that the Centre has proposed the SUMP, a dam on the Siang River, with the potential to produce up to 11,000 MW of electricity.

While sharing expert observations about the environmental implications of such a substantial hydropower project on the Tsangpo River, the Deputy Chief Minister remarked that if China constructs the dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo and diverts its waters, it could lead to the desiccation of the Siang River and its tributaries, impacting aquatic life and the vast population in the plains of Assam and Bangladesh that relies on the Brahmaputra for irrigation.

Moreover, in the event of a conflict between the two nations, it could result in the sudden release of a large volume of water from the dam, causing unpredictable flooding in the downstream regions of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, leading to loss of lives and property, as noted by Mein. In such scenarios, the dam on the Siang River would function as a safeguard, managing water release in a controlled manner to mitigate flooding downstream.