Leader of opposition in the Assam assembly, Debabrata Saikia, has appealed to the government to redesign the project and convert it into a multi-purpose project for the benefit of the entire region.
“We will not oppose the lower Subansiri project, but we have appealed to the government to redesign the project and convert it into a multi-purpose project for the benefit of the entire region,” he said.
Saikia explained the area where this project is being built is flood affected, and a majority of the populace in that area depends on agriculture.
“A multi-purpose project will help in irrigation and in controlling the flood, besides in power generation,” said Saikia.
“Our stand is clear, and now it is up to the BJP led government at both the state and the centre to show their sincerity, and walk the talk on the issue,” Saikia said.
The Lower Subansiri project is being constructed by the Government owned NHPC Ltd.
The union government plans to tap the hydro electric potential of the region, which is estimated to be over 60,000 MW, and for this over 160 hydro power projects are planned in the North East region. Among these, the construction of the lower Subansiri 2000 MW hydro power project, which is located close to the Assam and Arunachal Pradesh border, is almost 60 percent complete.
The construction of the Lower Subansiri project has been facing opposition from several political parties and civil society groups. However in a landmark development this year, all the major political parties in the state– the BJP, the Congress and the regional parties — the Assam Gana Parishad (AGP), the BPF and the AIUDF , cutting across political ideologies, pledged their support for construction of the lower Subansiri hydro power project, citing the need of electricity for development.
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