Imphal: The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has appointed 1995-batch IPS officer Rajesh Kumar as the new Director General of Police (DGP) of Arunachal Pradesh, a day after he was prematurely repatriated from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) to his parent cadre.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet on Monday approved the Home Ministry’s proposal to repatriate Kumar to his parent AGMUT cadre with immediate effect. He was serving as Special Director General in the CRPF.
According to an order issued by the Home Ministry on Wednesday, Kumar will succeed his batchmate Shiv Darshan Singh Jamwal as the DGP of Arunachal Pradesh. Jamwal has been transferred to Delhi.
The leadership change comes amid protests by sections of the tribal community against the proposed 11,200-megawatt Siang Upper Multipurpose Project, one of India’s largest proposed hydropower initiatives.
The project has faced sustained opposition from sections of the indigenous Adi community, particularly residents of areas likely to be affected. Concerns centre on the possible submergence of ancestral villages, displacement of communities, loss of agricultural land and forests, and disruption of traditional livelihoods and cultural practices.
The proposed project has also acquired strategic importance for the Centre in view of China’s planned hydropower project on the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Tibet, which enters India as the Siang.
Amid the protests, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu said on Monday that the government had not taken any decision on dam construction without consulting the affected communities. He also appealed to protesters to withdraw their proposed 36-hour shutdown in the Upper Siang region.
Clarifying the government’s position, Khandu said the discussions were currently limited to preparing a Pre-Feasibility Report (PFR) to assess the project’s viability and possible implications, and that no decision on actual dam construction had been taken.