Arunachal: SIFF Raises Siang Mega Dam Issue, Submits Memo To UN Forum

ITANAGAR: The Siang Indigenous Farmer’s Forum (SIFF), raised the issue of the proposed 10000 MW dam over Siang River in Arunachal Pradesh in the recently held UN South Asia Business and Human Rights Forum in Nepal capital Kathmandu

SIFF reportedly sought suggestions, guidance and inference in the matter so that the damages to the people can be averted with amicable discussion with the government in its representation to the UN Forum.

SIFF has been at the forefront of the anti-mega dam movement in Siang valley of Arunachal Pradesh.

The farmers’ forum said that it has been fighting collectively against the construction of the dam since 2013, when the MoUs were signed by the Arunachal Pradesh government to start the construction.

Experts have reservations against mega dams, which destroy the ecology, population, flora and fauna of the area where the dams are constructed.

Since it began its movement, the SIFF has been targeted, its members were harassed and threatened by the police and the authorities, SIFF leaders said.

NHPC has been allotted the proposed project at Siang Stage-II.

SIFF alleges that the NHPC is forcefully conducting survey activities during the night time, in spite of the strong opposition from the dam- affected farmers and the members of the SIFF.

“They are also threatening to use army and paramilitary forces in the coming years,” it said.

The forum has been running from pillar to post- it said it had earlier appealed to the Arunachal Pradesh chief minister, the then minister for water resources, also the river development and Ganga rejuvenation minister Uma Bharati and then approached union minister Gajendra Shekawat.

The SIFF informed that it had filed a PIL at Itanagar Permanent Bench of the Gauhati High Court in 2014 and the case was disposed in 2022 in favor of the petitioners. However, the authorities are not following the High Court Order,” the forum rued.

“The Siang River is the life-line for the people living in the Siang valley. It is the common property of the entire Adi population and some of its portion is the property of individuals and clans. Since time immemorial, it has been etched strongly in the psyche of the people and has become an essential part of the myth and mythology of Adi people. It is so entwined with the evolution of history of the people living in this valley that the name has found a place in the culture, history, folklore, folksongs and whatnot”, the Forum explained.

The SIFF said that the proposed dam, if constructed, will lead to large-scale devastation in the Siang valley and ‘any quantum of compensation will not suffice to rehabilitate the people.’

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