Pasighat: Thousands of villagers in Arunachal Pradesh’s Upper Siang district opposed the proposed 11,000 MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP) at an “unofficial meeting” held on August 27, the Siang Indigenous Farmers’ Forum Youth Wing (SIFFYW) said.

The organisation claimed the meeting was held by Amjad Tak, Divisional Commissioner (Central Zone), who also holds the charge of Commissioner, Public Health Engineering & Water Supply, without an official circular or prior notice.

According to the SIFFYW, local officials, including the Deputy Commissioner and Superintendent of Police of Boleng, were unaware of the gathering until villagers informed them. The two officials later attended the meeting, it said.

The forum said Tak had visited the area without informing the local administration to understand the situation on the ground through an informal interaction. Thousands of villagers attended the meeting and conveyed their opposition to the proposed project, with the forum saying their position was summed up by the slogan, “No Dam. No Survey.”

The SIFFYW said villagers had warned that any attempt by government agencies, corporations or their representatives to enter Siang villages to promote, survey or discuss the project would be viewed as a violation of customary practices and constitutional safeguards.

The organisation also raised concerns over an approximately 8.18-hectare glacial lake, classified as Category A by the National Disaster Management Authority and located about 25 km from Tuting. It said the proposed project is located downstream of the lake and that residents fear the potential consequences of constructing a large dam in the area.

The forum further pointed to the project site’s location in seismic Zone V, describing it as an active earthquake-prone region. It said villagers were concerned about the risks associated with creating a reservoir capable of holding billions of cubic metres of water in such an area.

The SIFFYW said communities in Siang villages had reaffirmed their intention to protect their ancestral land, rivers, forests and mountains. It said their opposition to the project was rooted in legal and indigenous safeguards, including the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR), 1873, Article 371(H) of the Constitution, the Forest Rights Act, 2006, the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

The organisation said opposition from villages across the Siang region had stalled the initial planning of the SUMP, with the project’s Pre-Feasibility Report (PFR) yet to progress.

It claimed that traditional village councils, or Baane Kebang, in Siang villages had unanimously adopted resolutions opposing the proposed mega-dam in recent months.

The SIFFYW further said survey and data-collection activities for the PFR had been blocked on the ground, with communities barring surveys, data collection and project-related discussions within their respective jurisdictions along the Siang River.