Publicise Assam dam design report, says pressure group

Assam's pressure group Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) has asked the central government to make public the Dam Design Review Panel (DDRP) report on the Lower Subansiri hydro-electric project.

KMSS leader Akhil Gogoi said that it would not accept the report until the concerns of downstream people in Assam are taken into consideration and would restart its protests against the 2,000 MW project.

Gogoi added: "The DDRP report has been submitted to the Planning Commission. We want the report to be put in public domain. Unless apprehensions and concerns expressed by the people of Assam against the project are properly studied, we will not accept any report and not allow construction of the project."

Gogoi said all members of the DDRP were from government agencies.

"Earlier, the committee of experts from IIT Guwahati, Dibrugarh University and Gauhati University had raised serious doubts on the safety of the dams because of its location in seismically active areas and because of the soil structure," he said, adding that the Thatte Committee of the central government had also raised the safety aspects of the dam.

The construction of the project was at a standstill for almost two years due to opposition from several organisations in Assam, including the KMSS.