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Arab Countries are fl oating in “Petro Dol-
lars”. It is estimated that the state would
be able to earn Rs. 70 billion as revenue by
generating power once these projects are
completed. Despite these opportunities,
there are certain concerns about the pos-
sible implication of these projects those
demands immediate attention.
Environmental Concerns
Impact of these projects on the environ-
ment has been the centre of the debate.
Intensity of concern also increases as the
state falls into the seismic zone V making
it one of the most earthquakes prone. The
environmentalist's anxiety also aggravates
as the mountains in Arunachal Pradesh
are regarded to be very young and prone
to landslide. Such alarmist reaction also
arises since the state is located near to the
epicentre of the infamous 1950 earthquake,
one of the most devastating earthquakes
of the century the country witnessed.
The 1950 quake was so devastating
that thousand of people were killed and
tremors were felt at six in the Richter scale
in Kolkata some thousand of kilometers
away from the epicentre. At the
1950 quake a large landslide
blocked the Subansiri
River and a natural dam
was created. This natural
dam broke after eight
days, creating a wave of
seven meters high which
inundated villages killing
hundreds of people.
Experiences of the
passed have made people
of the state fearful and they
feel that there would be a catastrophic
impact at the occurrence
of earthquake once these dams
are completed. The question
they are raising today — what worth the
dam will bring if there will be none to enjoy
its benefi ts. An obvious answer to this
would be to initiate a study to look into the
possible impact of earth quake on dams on
the region. The hydroelectric power policy
of the Arunachal Pradesh though says that
the projects will be developed considering
fragile geological condition of the state
and big dams will be developed in a most
environment, eco-friendly and judicious
manner. However, the reality depicts a
different picture many of these projects
have been initiated without acquiring adequate
environmental clearance. Media
reports claimed the on January 31, 2008
Manmohan Singh laid the foundation
stone for the 3000 MW Dibang multi purpose
project which did not secure the mandatory
environmental clearances.
Social Concerns
Concerns have been raised over the societal
implication of these dams. The society
in Arunachal Pradesh is agrarian,
rivers and forest playing a dominant role
R ESOURCE PLANNING
in lives of common people. Hence, a fear
of losing identity, customs and tradition is
prevailing among the mind of the people.
Construction of dams has led to loss of
large number of agricultural land and forest
cover which had been major resource
base for the agriculture and fi shing threatening
the sustainability of the people.
Some of the reports claim that fl ow of
water on the rivers on those the dams already
have been constructed reduced
drastically adversely affecting production
of fi sh. Cultivation is also facing problem
as many of the cultivable land either have
submerged or the channels made for irrigation
purpose have dried up. Generally
relocation is the obvious solution for
rehabilitation of the affected people but
this is not free of complexities. The rehabilitation
or compensation for the loss of
resources is complicated because ownership
of land, forest to rivers is attached to
specifi c clans or tribes. Fears are expressed
that any attempt to resettle one
tribe or clan into another may lead to tensions
between tribes. Besides, the issue of
cultural marginalization is slowly emerging
in the psyche of the people. As construction
of dams would require huge
skilled and unskilled workers and the
people of the state would not be
able to fi ll the demand, large
number of people would
be coming to the state
from outside; local fear
that the infl ux of people
from outside would threaten
their culture and identity.
Is the fear illogical? The
common picture in many of
the project sites have been high
walls barricaded with barbed
wire making it out of bound for
the locals and they need permission
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