GUWAHATI: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Sunday held meetings with community-based organisations (CBOs) to address "misinformation" surrounding the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP).
Khandu met the Arunachal Indigenous Tribes Forum and CBOs to discuss the project and strengthen efforts to spread awareness across the state.
The CM said “misinformation and misconceptions” about the project were creating apprehensions among people, stressing that the information gap needed to be addressed through facts, transparency and open dialogue.
“Our people deserve accurate information to understand the project, its strategic importance and the concerns associated with it,” the chief minister posted on X.
He also convened an all-party legislators’ meeting to discuss the pre-feasibility report (PFR) and survey for SUMP, with deliberations focusing on national security, environmental concerns and the interests of local residents.
“Our priority is to protect national interests while respecting the rights and aspirations of the people of Siang Valley,” Khandu said.
Prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita remained in force in parts of violence-hit East Siang district in Arunachal Pradesh on Sunday. Officials said no fresh incidents of violence linked to the proposed hydropower project had been reported from the district.
Mobs went on a rampage in the district headquarters of Pasighat on Friday night, setting fire to an office of the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) and vehicles parked on police station premises.
The houses of BJP state president Kaling Moyong and MLAs Oni Panyang and Ninong Ering were vandalised or looted. Clashes with security personnel left several people injured.
The violence erupted amid demands by local organisations opposing the project. Their demands include scrapping SUMP, withdrawing armed forces deployed in the region allegedly in connection with the PFR survey, releasing 10 arrested activists and reinstating suspended village chiefs.
The Centre has envisaged SUMP, which is expected to generate around 11,000 MW of power, as a counter to a 60,000-MW Chinese hydropower project.
However, sections of activists and villagers oppose SUMP over fears of displacement, loss of livelihoods, and environmental and seismic risks. They have described the “forceful” PFR survey as a violation of their fundamental rights.