Rajesh Kumar appointed Arunachal DGP amid protests over Siang hydropower project

The Union Home Ministry has appointed 1995-batch IPS officer Rajesh Kumar as the new Director General of Police (DGP) of Arunachal Pradesh, amid protests by sections of the indigenous Adi community against the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP).

Kumar's appointment came a day after the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) approved his premature repatriation from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) to his parent AGMUT cadre with immediate effect. He was serving as Special Director General in the CRPF.

According to the Home Ministry's order, Kumar will succeed Shiv Darshan Singh Jamwal, his batchmate, who has been transferred to Delhi.

The leadership change comes amid continuing opposition to the proposed 11,200-megawatt multipurpose hydropower project on the Siang River, one of India's largest planned hydropower initiatives.

Sections of the indigenous Adi community, particularly residents of areas likely to be affected by the project, have raised concerns over the possible submergence of ancestral villages, displacement, loss of agricultural land and forests, and disruption of their traditional way of life.

The project has also acquired strategic significance for the Centre in view of China's proposed massive hydropower project on the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Tibet, which flows into India as the Siang.