Assam opposes Centre plan to build mega dam on Siang river

A day after the Centre announced plans to construct a dam on the Siang river in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today said he will not endorse any project not benefiting the people at large.

Gogoi asserted that his government was for the welfare of the people and it would "not endorse any project, which will not benefit them", an official release said.

He said the Centre has not consulted the state yet on any such project on middle Siang.

"We have not received any formal communication from the Centre regarding construction of the proposed Middle Siang Project," Gogoi said.

"The present (state) government always stands for the welfare of the people and it accords top most priority to the hopes and aspirations of the people of the state," he added.

Yesterday, Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti had said the Centre was planning a massive dam in Arunachal Pradesh, which would also help control floods in Assam and produce power, in a bid to establish India's riparian rights over use of water from the trans-boundary Brahmaputra river.

"We are planning two projects on Brahmaputra, which I have briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi about. The solution on Brahmaputra's perennial flow lies in middle Siang. Even Siang is the answer for floods in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam," Bharti had said. "The problem for the Brahmaputra and problem from the Brahmaputra are both going to be sorted out within a very short period," she had added.

According to Additional Secretary of the Union Water Resources Ministry Amarjit Singh, the dam would be able to produce about 9,600 MW of power and it would be helpful in a big way in controlling floods in Assam.