Arunachal government purportedly cleared dams without proper risk assessment
1 Jun, 2012Based on information garnered from the Arunachal Pradesh government under the RTI Act, it has been alleged by Akhil Gogoi that the State government has accrued processing fees and upfront premiums for 50 hydroelectric projects from some private sectors giants without even signing memoranda of agreement (MoA). It has been claimed that while MoA have been signed between the Arunachal Pradesh government and Private agencies for 149 hydroelectric projects, the State government has accrued revenue for 199 projects. It has been alleged that between 2005-06 and January 2012, the Arunachal government has accrued revenue worth Rs. 1,332 Crores from various private agencies as well as the NHPC against processing fee, upfront premiums etc. for allotment of hydroelectric projects. The proposed capacity of power to be generated from 149 proposed dams across 15 districts of Arunachal is stated to be 42026.30 MW.
It has been claimed that there was no assessment of the possible impact of 50 proposed hydroelectric projects on the downstream areas. It has been questioned as to how the Arunachal government can receive revenues before signing of the MoA. Before signing any MoA, the study of the environmental impact of the proposed dams is a must.