Arunachal Signs MoU on Siang Dam PFR Amid Rising Concerns

The Arunachal Pradesh government on Monday signed a Memorandum of Understanding with residents of Beging village in Siang district for preparing the Pre-Feasibility Report of the proposed 11,000 MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project.

Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein, who was present at the ceremony, said the agreement reaffirmed the state’s approach of development through dialogue and shared responsibility. He stressed that the project is crucial both to meet India’s future power needs and to counter China’s plan to build a 60,000 MW mega dam across the border.

Mein added that the Siang project is not only about power generation but also about water security, flood protection and the economic growth of the region. The MoU signing was attended by Minister Ojing Tasing, Advisor Ninong Ering, former minister Tamiyo Taga, Commissioner (Power) Ankur Garg, DC Siang Tayi Taggu and other senior officials.

While the government projected the signing as a breakthrough, the Siang Indigenous Farmer’s Forum (SIFF) has continued to oppose the PFR process. The forum alleges that the consent claimed by the authorities is misleading, pointing to RTI findings that only 277 of 429 households in Riga village supported the project, far fewer than officially stated.

SIFF has also claimed that several names on the consent list were of people without land rights in the project area and that the so-called “irrevocable consent” obtained by the project committee lacked transparency. It has further rejected claims of CSR funds or upfront payments being extended for the feasibility process.

To mobilise resistance, SIFF has called a traditional Bogum Boka Kebang at Geku, urging local groups, students and legislators to join hands against the dam and demanding constitutional safeguards under Article 371-H.

First proposed by NHPC in 2009, the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project has now emerged as both a symbol of strategic necessity and a flashpoint of local discontent, with Monday’s MoU intensifying the debate over development, rights and survival in Arunachal’s Siang valley.

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