Review hydropower policy: Grp to Khandu

Itanagar: A group of nature lovers, environmentalists, social activists and human rights defenders on Wednesday urged the Khandu govt to review the state’s 2008 hydropower policy.In a letter to the CM, the group requested the state govt to promote community-based renewable energy alternatives and decentralised power grids, which will benefit not just the local communities but also the state. Expressing its opposition to rampant construction of dams in the state, the group said it’s not anti-development or anti-govt.Appealing to the state govt to review the 2008 policy, the group cited the dangers posed by Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOF), as flagged by the National Disaster Management Authority.The group had, in a letter to the CM on Feb 24, highlighted the dangers posed by GLOF. It accused the dam developers of funding a team for glacial lake studies in the Dibang Valley district. “We doubt the accuracy of their results, as these dam developers have been notorious for manipulating data,” it said.The group also highlighted the incomplete and inaccurate survey for the Etalin hydroelectric project.In 2017, the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) was tasked to prepare a report on the impact of the Etalin hydroelectric project on the biodiversity of Dibang Valley, it said.It claimed that a peer review, ‘The Devil is in the Detail’ by 29 scientists, remarked that the WII report contained “incomplete” and “inaccurate” data leading to an erroneous and inadequate assessment of the proposed project’s impact on biodiversity. Despite clear directives to conduct a multi-seasonal student, WII spent only four months surveying a limited number of sites, it alleged.The group also voiced its concern over the coming up of several dams over the Dibang river and the pre-feasibility report for Siang Upper Multipurpose project over the Siang river. “The rampant construction of dams in Dibang and imposing forceful PFR studies in Upper Siang are deeply concerning, given the manner in which people’s voices and objections to the dams have been suppressed in the past,” it said.Drawing the CM’s attention to an order issued by Siang DC PN Thungon on Aug 30, wherein a stern warning was issued to gaon buras, panchayat leaders and govt officials directing them to refrain from participating in any meetings that are “anti-govt” and “anti-development”, it accused the official of blatant abuse of power.

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