Minister softens stand on Subansiri dam, says talk first

He said, 'My own assessment is that it is not going to cause any danger'

A day after he advocated resumption of work of the stalled Subansiri hydro power project, Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region Vijay Kumar Singh today said construction should resume after consultation with agitators.

“Nothing will be done without consulting people. That is the Bhartiya Janata Party stand and we stand by that,” Singh said on the sidelines of IIT-Guwahati convocation here.

He was responding to a query about protests since this morning in front of his accommodation on account of his statement yesterday supporting construction of the dam.

Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti members held demonstration since 5 am today and later a delegation met Singh to apprise him of the reasons behind their opposition to the dam.

Singh had yesterday said most of the protests against the project were “unjustified” and were driven by “propaganda”.

“We have problems of power in Assam. We are aware of the protests of Subansiri project — some are justified, majority are not justified... Why should there be any problem?” he had said at the National Cold Chain Summit here yesterday.

“I know who these protesters are. I know the groups and their propaganda very well. So our only job is to convince them that the dam is safe and beneficial for Assam,” he had said.

When reminded that BJP had opposed the construction of Subansiri dam before the Lok Sabha elections, Singh had said, “I am not aware of BJP’s stand. I do not know what BJP's stand was. Subansiri project is also not a big dam.”

According to the minister, people have not been told about the benefits of the project and that is why it was languishing for the last two years with a fear of down stream impact.

Urging to “shed some of our inhibitions”, he had said it was going to be helpful and provide power to Assam as the 15 per cent power that will be free, could be distributed between Arunachal and Assam.

Singh’s latest comment comes within days of Power Minister Piyush Goyal assuring the people that “no construction will be undertaken till the matter is sorted out”.

On July 5, Goyal met Assam BJP chief and Union Minister for Skill Development, Entrepreneurship, Youth Affairs and Sports Sarbanda Sonowal to discuss and solve the issue.

The construction work of the ambitious 2,000 Mw project at Gerukamukh in Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border on Subansiri river has been stalled for over two years after protests by locals and many groups fearing safety and downstream impact. Subansiri Lower HE Project is the biggest hydroelectric project undertaken in India so far and is a run of river scheme on river Subansiri. The project is located at Lower Subansiri in Arunachal Pradesh, near North Lakhimpur on the border of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.

The cost of the project was initially estimated to be around Rs 6,285 crore and it was scheduled to be commissioned in December 2012.