Prime Minister Narendra Modi ushered in a new era of Arunachal Pradesh on Monday with foundation stones being laid on a total of over 5,100 crore INR projects. One of the most ambitious is a pair of hydropower stations in the district of Shi Yomi- Heo (240) and Tato -I (186) in the Siyom sub-basin. Modi referred to them as the two benefits of two engines, highlighting the fact that they will not only harness the huge hydroelectric capacity of the region, but also inject healthy energy into the national grid, which will translate into the real socio-economic benefits to the people living in the area.
This announcement came in the context of a local outcry over the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project(SUMP). In May, hundreds of the inhabitants of three districts protested against the use of central paramilitary forces to carry out surveys along the Siang River on environmental grounds. The government has, in turn, pointed out that SUMP is a counter-mechanism to a proposed mega-hydropower project by China on the same river, which would compromise downstream areas of India and Bangladesh.
This act comes after the December passage of what will be the largest hydropower dam in the world on the eastern side of the Tibetan plateau. This step has provoked anxiety about the ecological and hydrological effects on the delicate plateau and the downstream beneficiaries.
The visit of Modi to Arunachal was a larger northeast push, of which he also opened some projects worth 35,000 crore in Mizoram, Manipur, and Assam. He did not miss the chance to blame the previous Congress government on account of its supposed ignorance with regard to the unexploited potential of the northeast. In 2014, he said that when he took over, he decided to drop the Congress mindset and put development at the core of the northeast. Since the BJP came to power in the centre of power, budgetary allocations have increased in the region, union ministers have been visiting it more than 800 times, and I have been visiting it more than 70 times.
He further stated that the current GST reforms, which are currently in operation, complement these development efforts, hence providing a more favourable investment and growth atmosphere. The cornerstones, which will be placed on this auspicious day of Navratri, are a new promise of tapping the natural resources of this region and protecting the ecological legacy of this region, with the aim of laying a more promising and inclusive future of Arunachal Pradesh and the northeastern core.
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