NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change's Expert Appraisal Committee has recommended the diversion of 2,733 hectares of forest land for the 1,605 MW Subansiri Upper Hydroelectric Project in Arunachal Pradesh, even as it flagged concerns over the scale of tree felling the project would require.
The committee said the large number of trees to be felled, given the project's location in a dense forest area, could have serious implications for forest structure, habitat continuity, biodiversity, wildlife movement and associated ecosystem services.
The project has a long and contentious history.
The ministry had originally granted wildlife clearance for state-run NHPC's 2,000 MW Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project (SLP) on condition that no dams would be built upstream of it in the Subansiri basin, a condition upheld by an interim Supreme Court order on April 19, 2004.
Arunachal Pradesh subsequently appealed against the blanket ban, arguing that the upper and middle reaches of the basin held substantial untapped hydroelectric potential.
The Supreme Court modified its order in 2009.
First proposed in 1995, the Subansiri Upper project is estimated to cost ₹21,320.40 crore. It will affect 27 villages and 2,278 families in Upper Subansiri district, of which 570 families will be involuntarily displaced. An allocation of ₹148.45 crore has been earmarked for the environmental management plan.
The Expert Appraisal Committee, chaired by Professor G J Chakrapani, recommended the project at its 61st meeting on August 31, 2026. The project will result in the submergence of 2,417.47 hectares.
The project site is at Menga village, near Daporijo, the headquarters of Upper Subansiri district. The ministry issued fresh terms of reference in September 2024, and a public hearing was held in March 2026, chaired by Daporijo Deputy Commissioner Tasso Gambo.
The committee noted that there are no national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, biosphere reserves, or tiger or elephant reserves within a 10-km radius of the site. The nearest protected area, Nidak Danyi Wildlife Sanctuary, lies about 10.6 km from the tail-end of the proposed reservoir on Selin Nala.
The committee also noted that a Wildlife Conservation Plan for Schedule I species had been approved by the state forest department in March 2025, and said funds allocated for the plan should not be diverted for any other purpose.
It further recommended that suitable sacred groves or biodiversity conservation patches be established within the project-affected area, wherever feasible, to promote the conservation and enrichment of indigenous and endemic flora and fauna.
