Guwahati: Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu on Monday said thatsecurity forces deployed in the Siang valley are there to maintain law and order and protect local residents, not to intimidate or suppress them, defending the deployment amid protests against the proposed 11,200 MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP).At a public function at Palin in Kra Daadi district, Khandu said the state govt has said, “The CAPF personnel and police deployed in the area are there to safeguard local residents, not to intimidate or suppress them. There is a great deal of misinformation circulating on social media, and I believe it is important to clarify these points publicly.”He said that govt’s position is that the pre-feasibility report (PFR) should be allowed to be prepared first people, stressing that conducting a pre-feasibility report (PFR) would not mean construction was inevitable.“Any decision to build the project would depend on expert assessments, consultations and public consent,” he added.He said that SUMP is not merely a hydropower project but a national project and defence mechanism project against potential downstream impact of China’s proposed mega project.“China has already begun constructing a massive hydropower project in the mountainous region across the border. Its project is based on hydropower generation, with five hydropower stations planned, together expected to generate around 60,000 MW. This will have a direct impact on Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Bangladesh,” Khandu.He said that seeing this threat of impact, this project was made a national project in 2008, remained stalled for years partly because China had not made significant progress on its proposed mega hydropower project upstream.“However, the project did not progress rapidly after 2008 because our neighbouring country had also not moved ahead with its work. As a result, the project remained in cold storage for some time. Activities resumed between 2021 and 2023 because China began work on its project. Consequently, work on our side also began to move forward,” he added.The clarification comes amid protests in the Siang belt, where residents and community organisations have opposed preliminary activities over fears of displacement, submergence of ancestral land and damage to their cultural heritage.The administration has said it is willing to facilitate direct talks between affected villagers and govt, but has asked communities to identify representatives to initiate the dialogue.
