Arunachal forum questions validity of household approvals for 11,000 MW Siang Dam

The Siang Indigenous Farmer’s Forum (SIFF) has contested the validity of household approvals cited in support of the proposed 11,000 MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP), alleging that the number of consent signatories was inflated and riddled with irregularities.

Addressing the media on Saturday, SIFF spokesperson Tagori Mize said that an RTI response exposed discrepancies in the claims made by the Siang Upper Project Multipurpose Dam Committee (SUPMDC). 

“The RTI reply revealed that only 277 out of 429 households in Riga village had actually endorsed the project, as opposed to the 329 claimed by the committee,” Mize stated.

He further alleged that at least 17 names included in the consent list did not own land in the proposed project area. “This makes the entire process of consent deeply flawed and misleading,” he said.

On August 5, the SUPMDC had announced that villagers had given their “irrevocable consent” for the pre-feasibility report (PFR) study of the mega dam project. SIFF, however, dismissed the announcement, asserting that the procedure lacked transparency and credibility. The forum also accused the committee of spreading “misinformation” about corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds and upfront payments from the project developer — claims that were refuted by the state’s hydropower department in RTI disclosures.

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The farmers’ forum has now called for a traditional Bogum Boka Kebang meeting at Geku on August 20, inviting community organisations, student bodies, and legislators to join its demand for amending Article 371-H of the Constitution, which grants special provisions to Arunachal Pradesh but has been a longstanding subject of debate in the state.

Conceived by NHPC in 2009, the SUMP is envisioned as one of India’s largest hydropower projects with a reservoir capacity of nearly 9 billion cubic metres. Apart from power generation, the project has been pitched as a major contributor to irrigation and flood moderation in the Siang basin.

The project, however, has drawn resistance from local communities and environmental groups over potential threats to indigenous land, culture, and ecology. With SIFF’s latest revelations, the controversy over the Siang dam appears set to intensify in the run-up to the Bogum Boka Kebang.