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Mega Dam Project:SETS ASSAM AFLAME, by Mithun Dey Print E-mail

Events & Issues

New Delhi, 23 November 2010


Mega Dam Project

SETS ASSAM AFLAME

By Mithun Dey

 

The ‘mega dam’ 2000 MW Lower Subansiri Hydro Electric Power Project set up in 2003 in Arunachal Pradesh is now one of the central political issues in Assam. The Opposition parties led by the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the BJP in the State have made clear that they would use its ‘anti-dam’ stand as an election issue during the Assembly polls early next year.

 

Pertinently, even as the mega dam projects are being planned in Assam along-with Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh, the conservationists have volubly expressed that the dams must be tossed out as they would cause an obnoxious ecological collision in the areas and create problems for the people living in the regions. 

 

Said the BJP’s Assam President Ranjit Dutta, “Definitely the big dam issue would be on top of our agenda and we will see to it that the plans are shelved at any cost.” The AGP too is making big noises on the mega dam issue. Added AGP’s former Chief Minister Profulla Mahanta, “We will not allow the Lower Subansiri Hydro Electric Power Project in Arunachal Pradesh to come up at any cost.

 

An expert committee has been formed by the Congress’s Tarun Gogoi Assam Government. Stated a member of the committee Jatin Kalita, “From a geological point of view, we have recommended diminution of the dam height to avert flooding, besides other technical recommendations’.

 

However, now the controversy over the mega dam has taken a political turn. Apparent from the manner the Opposition and the ruling Party are locked in a bitter slanging match. The Chief Minister is of the view that there was no point in opposing the project for the sake of opposition. “If the project benefits Assam then why should we oppose it?’ Gogoi said.

 

Significantly, there are currently three major projects, Ranganadi project, Subansari project and Taloh power project being executed in Arunachal.  Notwithstanding the anti-dam tirade by farmers and fishermen who might lose their source of livelihood, the State Government is going ahead with the construction of the dams in the Himalayan region.

 

On the flip side, with an energy discrepancy of about 12 per cent, India is under pressure to power its economic growth.  But the people of North East think otherwise. In fact, a composite network of tribal groups and over a dozen long-running mutinies fuelled by anger over what they see as New Delhi’s pillage of local resources have raised the ante for meaningful autonomy.  

 

According to activists, the edifice of the dams would not only diminish water flows but as a result, it would lead to a decrease of fishing stocks in the rivers and less water for farmers to rinse out their crops.

 

As it stands, in Assam during monsoon, the water levels in the dam reservoirs often lead to mass floods and ruin almost everything, crops, homes, animals’ et al while people suffer from dysentery, diarrhea year after year. Moreover, experts note that the region is also located in an active seismic zone, which could create serious problems if many mega-dams are constructed.

 

But the State Government has no plan to discontinue the ongoing work on the project even as experts list out the adverse impacts of the project. “We are not against development and power generation. But this should not be done at the cost of the lives of the common people. The Government can take recourse to the micro-hydel projects, instead of the mega dams, for power generation,” emphasized Sammujal Bhattacharya.

 

 “The Central Government must stop the mega dam projects being constructed in the hills of Arunachal Pradesh till the final viability report is filed. The Government should think about the adverse collision of the dam projects. After erecting these mega dam projects in the hills, the future of the lower parts residing people will be jeopardized”, he warned.

 

In July this year, well known activist and head of the Narmada Bachao Andolan Medha Patkar launched a scorching attack on the Assam Government for moving ahead with the mega dams project over the Brahmaputra River and presaged for mass mutiny if the projects were not stopped immediately.

 

 “The people of Assam and the North-east would rebellion if such dams are permitted to proceed. Building of dams would slay both the river Brahmaputra and the people of the North-East and we shall never assent to this sort of projects to continue,” asserted Patkar at an anti-dam rally in the State.

 

The BJP retaliated against Congress assertions that the erstwhile NDA Government under Prime Minister Vajpayee had supported the construction of mega dams in the region. Countered former BJP President Rajnath Singh, “The BJP had only said yes to build a multi-purpose dam but never started construction of mega dams.” Thus, making plain its stand over construction of mega dams in the region.

 

Importantly, the people of Assam have the right to live which would clearly be in jeopardy if mega dams are constructed in the region. At the same time the Government has a duty to safeguard public interests and its people from ruin. The powers-that-be should also engage more experts to study all the pros and cons of downstream affects of the dam. ----- INFA

 

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

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