Guwahati: Opposition to the proposed Pumped Storage Power Projects (PSPs) in Assam’s Karbi Anglong district has intensified, with senior legal experts and land rights activists backing allegations that the state government is misusing the state-owned Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL) to facilitate corporate entry into a Sixth Schedule area.
The fresh reactions come days after the All Party Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC) accused the Assam government of projecting APDCL as the “user agency” in forest diversion proposals, while private corporations remain the real developers and beneficiaries of the projects.
Noted advocate Santanu Borthakur questioned the very basis of seeking forest diversion without first settling the rights of indigenous communities living on the land.
“What will happen to the people who were living on the forest land that has been diverted for Pump Storage Projects? That is the first question. Without resolving the issue of the rights of the tribal people, the land is being planned for diversion for new projects, and it is not clear what will happen to their rights,” Borthakur said.
He stressed that recognition of tribal rights must precede any discussion on diversion.
“First, their rights should be settled, and only then should the issue of diversion arise. Raising the question of diversion without clarifying these issues is wrong,” he added.
Borthakur warned that the projects strike at the core of constitutional protections under the Sixth Schedule.
“The Sixth Schedule is a law meant to protect the cultural, social, political, and land rights of tribal people. But the government has initiated large-scale projects there. These projects will displace them. This will dilute and distort the very concept of the Sixth Schedule,” he said.
Terming the APDCL-led proposals illegal, the advocate alleged deliberate misuse of the law to favour corporate interests.
“In this case, the Assam government has misused the law while attempting to allot land to corporate entities. The government has used APDCL as a proxy to obtain environmental clearance in order to hand over this land to corporates, in a completely illegal manner. This is nothing but an attempt at corporate land grabbing,” Borthakur said, adding that APDCL was being used as a “shield” because of legal hurdles in directly allotting land to corporates in Sixth Schedule areas.
Echoing these concerns, Subrata Talukdar, Convener of the Joint Land Rights Struggle Committee, alleged that Karbi Anglong is being systematically opened up for corporate exploitation.
“Karbi Anglong has been turned into a colony for corporate houses such as Adani, Ambani, Godrej, Patanjali, Greenko, and others. Since Himanta Biswa Sarma became Chief Minister in 2021, there has been a plan to hand over nearly 1.5 lakh bighas of land in Karbi Anglong to corporate entities,” Talukdar said.
He claimed that the transfer of traditional agricultural land to outside business interests is already eroding the local economy, politics, and culture.
“As a result of transferring traditional agricultural land to outside business interests, the economy, politics, and culture of the local people of Karbi Anglong have begun to be destroyed,” he added.
Talukdar also pointed to recent eviction attempts linked to the PSPs, alleging a complete absence of public consultation.
“Recently, there have been attempts to evict people from several villages in Karbi Anglong to construct pump storage projects. In the name of undertaking large projects, no discussions of any kind have been held with the local people. There have also been no studies on the impact these projects will have on the environment and biodiversity,” he said.
According to him, local resistance has so far stalled several projects.
“The local people of Karbi Anglong are collectively fighting against this in a democratic manner, but the government appears to be paying no heed. Due to the people’s democratic movement, the government has so far been unable to implement many projects,” Talukdar said, demanding that the PSPs be permanently scrapped.
The renewed criticism adds to mounting pressure on the Assam government and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, with activists warning that allowing APDCL to act as a front for private corporations could undermine the Forest Rights Act, weaken Sixth Schedule protections, and set a dangerous precedent for tribal regions across the country.