Guwahati: The row over pumped storage power projects in Assam’s Karbi Anglong district has snowballed into a full-blown political confrontation, with opposition parties and hill leaders accusing the state government of executing a calculated strategy to transfer tribal land and forests to private corporations by hiding behind public sector entities such as the Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL).
Reacting to a Northeast Now report that exposed how forest diversion proposals in Karbi Anglong list APDCL as the user agency while private firms are alleged to be the real beneficiaries, leaders of Raijor Dal, CPI(M) and the All Party Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC) said the episode reveals a dangerous model of corporate land transfer being normalised under the BJP government.
‘Land First Taken in APDCL’s Name, Then Handed to Greenko’
Raijor Dal executive president Bhasko De Saikia said the Karbi Anglong case has exposed one of the BJP government’s core methods for bypassing Sixth Schedule protections.
“The BJP government has devised various strategies to hand over Assam’s resources to corporate interests. One such strategy has been exposed in this report by Northeast Now,” Bhasko De Saikia said.
“The report shows how land in the Sixth Schedule area of Karbi Anglong was first acquired in the name of APDCL and is now being strategically transferred to a private sector company called Greenko. Since land in Sixth Schedule areas cannot be directly given to private companies, the land was first acquired in APDCL’s name to pave the way for its transfer to Greenko,” he added.
Warning that Karbi Anglong is only the beginning, Bhasko De Saikia said, “‘Taking the pot little by little’—this is how Assam’s resources will be handed over to the private sector. Many such cases will follow unless this strategy is stopped now.”
He demanded a high-level investigation into the entire process.
Also read: Assam govt accused of using APDCL as front to push corporate-backed power projects in Karbi Anglong
‘APDCL Being Used to Roll Out Red Carpet for Corporates’
Bhasko De Saikia accused the Assam government of repurposing public institutions to serve private profit.
“On one hand, land is being transferred at throwaway prices. On the other, institutions like APDCL are being used to roll out the red carpet for big corporates with full state support,” he said.
He also accused the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC), led by Tuliram Ronghang, of facilitating the process by keeping local communities in the dark.
“They are attempting to hand over land to corporates without the knowledge or consent of the people of Karbi Anglong. The people will remember this and build a resistance movement,” he said.
Pattern Repeated Across Assam
The Raijor Dal leader said the Karbi Anglong controversy fits into a broader pattern.
“Land has been given to Adani in some places, to Ambani and Patanjali in others. Thousands of bighas have been allotted to Patanjali, and there are reports of land being given to Adani even in Dhubri,” De Saikia said.
“At this moment, the people of Assam have no option other than protest.”
‘Illegal, Election-Funded Corporate Push’
CPI(M) Assam state committee general secretary Suprakash Talukdar said the government is repeating a familiar and illegal playbook.
“The illegal path adopted by the BJP government in allotting huge tracts of land once again in Karbi Anglong is highly condemnable,” Talukdar said.
“We have seen this before—people were evicted, APASEB signboards were installed, and later it emerged that the land was meant for the Adani Group,” he said.
Referring to the Greenko projects, Talukdar said the same method is now being used.
“There are grounds to believe the BJP is pushing these transfers primarily to collect massive election funds from corporate groups. That is why the government is in such a hurry,” he alleged.
‘Power Department Being Used as a Cover’
Talukdar accused the state of hiding behind the power department to fast-track corporate access to land.
“Under the pretext of the power department, the government is aggressively pushing to hand over this land to Greenko Energy,” he said.
“The most unfortunate aspect is that tribal forest rights have not been recognised. Instead of granting rights, the government is actively curtailing them,” Talikdar added.
APHLC Warns of Statewide Fallout
APHLC leader Bikram Hanse warned that allowing the APDCL–Greenko model to succeed would have consequences far beyond Karbi Anglong.
“Today it is Karbi Anglong. Tomorrow it will be every Sixth Schedule area of Assam,” Hanse cautioned.
“This is not just about one project—it is about whether constitutional protections can be quietly neutralised through corporate-friendly paperwork,” he said.
Hanse said the strategy represents a direct threat to the autonomy guaranteed to tribal areas under the Constitution.
Demand for Immediate Halt
The hill leaders reiterated their demand that the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change immediately halt the processing of the forest diversion proposals, order full disclosure of project ownership and control, and initiate an inquiry into the use of APDCL as a front agency.
“If the government believes in transparency, let Greenko come openly, face the law, face the people and face the Constitution,” Hanse said.
“Using a public utility as a shield to benefit private corporations is not development—it is deception,” he added.
Call for United Resistance
Both opposition leaders and hill organisations warned that limiting the resistance to Karbi Anglong alone would be a grave mistake.
“If this fight is left only to the Karbi people, tomorrow all of us will face the same situation,” Talukdar said, pointing to earlier land transfers in Dhubri carried out under the guise of evictions.
The Assam government, APDCL and Greenko Energies have so far not issued any public response to the allegations.