PM lays foundation stone 600 km from site

Why would one lay the foundation stone for a project about 600 km away the site? That's the question a lot of people in Arunachal Pradesh are asking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The prime minister, who is in Itanagar today for a two-day visit, laid the stone for the Rs 16,425-crore Dibang multi-purpose project in the state capital. The project, with a capacity of 3,000 Mw will be the country's largest hydroelectric power station.

Controversial from the start, the Dibang project is being opposed by a host of organisations in Arunachal Pradesh and environmentalists across the country. The mega project is being set up by the public sector National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) and is a key component of the plan to add 50,000 Mw of hydro power to the grid. A total of 17 organisations, representing primarily the students and welfare organisations of the Idu Mishmi tribe which lives in Lower Dibang Valley, have protested against the stone-laying ceremony because the project has not received any of the critical clearances.

An extremely agitated Tone Mickrow, general secretary of the All Idu Mishmi Students Union (AIMSU) told Business Standard that the Dibang project had not gone through the mandatory environmental and forest clearance procedures. The first public hearing on the environmental impact of the gigantic project took place just three days ago (on January 29) while the second hearing scheduled on January 31 at New Aneya, one of the affected villages, was cancelled because of the breach in road communication.

The sense of outrage is widespread. "This is a betrayal of the people," says Raju Mimi, editor of Veracity, a Roing-based weekly that has been highlighting the struggle against the NHPC project. Roing is the district headquarters of Lower Dibang Valley.

"We have been protesting for one year, not against the project per se but against its size which will cause untold ecological damage through deforestation. Besides, it is in a highly seismic zone," says Mickrow. "Why can't we have smaller dams that are more environmentally friendly?" he demands. The Dibang project will have a 288-metre high concrete dam, which will be the highest such dam in Asia.

What has upset the people in particular is that the prime minister is currently holding charge of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF). This is an issue that has been raised by the Delhi-based environmental organisation Kalpavriksh also. Kalpavriksh, which has studying the Dibang project, has written to Singh asking him not to lay the stone since it would send the wrong signals.

Neeraj Vagholikar, member of the Kalpavriksh society, points out the project is yet to be scrutinised by the Expert Appraisal Committee on River Valley and Hydroelectric projects and the Forest Advisory Committee, which are part of the environmental and forest clearance processes respectively. The public consultation process is yet to be completed for the project too.

"The prime minister laying the foundation stone of a project which is yet to receive mandatory clearances gives an impression that the project is being treated as a fait accompli, thereby making the mandatory clearance processes to decide its environmental and social viability seem like a formality," says the letter written by Vagholikar and Manju Menon.

Sources here say the foundation ceremony In Itanagar was added at the last minute and was not initially part of Singh's programme.