Nature, in India, hides so many clandestine secrets in its lap that it never fails to hit the bullseye in flabbergasting you. While the whole nation today continues to grapple with the problem of energy conservation and energy shortage to feed the demands of an over-increasing population, the solution lies at a place which till now has been completely neglected.
Hence today there is a strong need to go ahead with a well-defined strategy which takes into account affordability, productivity, environment and above all the needs of the vulnerable tribal groups. Otherwise, no one will be able to salvage himself out of the disaster.
Though the issue of Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh springs into action as soon as any talk is about to take place between Indian diplomats and their Chinese counterparts, but more or less the true potential of Arunachal Pradesh transcends all the disputes and petty claims by the Chinese on this Indian territory. The vitality, beauty and importance of the "Land of Dawn-lit Mountains" are unparalleled and that is evident from the excessive potential that lies in this area.
Nature has decorated this state with such an astonishing beauty that it is impossible for some abysmal words to expound it to anyone who has never been to this place. The state is one of the seven sisters states in India and stands 14th in the area-wise category among the rest of the twenty-eight Indian states. The huge waterfalls and a God-gifted labyrinth of river systems allocate the state with an unmatched crucial structure.
In the year 2003, NDA government headed by former Prime Minister Shri. Atal Bihari Vajpayee kickstarted the dream Indian electricity generation project, under which an increment of 50,000 MW of electricity generation capacity was to be rendered to different generation plants around the nation. Out of 162 generation plants, 42 were situated in Arunachal Pradesh only and bore the onus of generating around half of desired value of 50,000 MW.
A couple of years later the work did start but soon afterwards, red tapes, lack of motivation on behalf of stakeholders and various environment issues (that are not being dealt at the bureaucratic level) have completely stalled the project as well as the great vision.
After a few years, Memoranda of Agreement(MoA) were signed between the state government and private developers, conducive to this, all the major projects were handed out for Survey and Investigation (S&I), which is counted among the initial steps towards the proceeding of approvals of various formal clearances.
Haplessly, everything came to a complete standstill and various projects have not even taken off even after fourteen years of the commencement of the programme. Special projects such as 2000MW Subhansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project (SLHEP) and 3000MW Lower valley Dibang Project (which is also supposed to be instrumental in controlling the floods in the lower Dibang valley) are still waiting in the queue to get the nod of the respective authorities.
Problems at the grass-root level.
Initially, it was thought of that the main problems are arising due to the resistance offered by the ethnic tribal groups of the areas which have no other source of income but their land which they are not ready to jeopardise for the formation of the hydroelectric projects. Their illiteracy, as well as complete disconnection from the world outside their territories too, aggravate their insecurity regarding proper resettlement. But soon, after proper scrutinies by various NGOs brought out the fact that this is only the half story.
The government till now has been reluctant in talking the tribal people out of their woes. The land acquisition act as well as successive failures of state governments around the nation, with respect to the resettlement of tribal people, has instilled an aura of suspicion and doubt around all the tribal communities of Arunachal Pradesh.
The problems of the tribals can be placed in three categories which we will discuss in the following points:
1. De-facto ownership : The tribal communities all around the proposed project areas have been living there since time immemorial and just like people in the cities who have built buildings, houses etc. in order to demarcate their area, the tribals too have set up their whole world around these forest areas and have been feeding themselves only through the products and services that they can get out of the natural vegetation and forests situated there. Their first problem is that they are not being considered as legitimate stakeholders of the area. The private companies have snubbed them off completely and the state government is also taciturn in contemplating about the welfare of these tribes. Being unable to search for a secured platform on any side, the tribes have resorted to offering complete resistance towards S&I and other programs. Since the de facto ownership of the land rests in the hands of the native people of the area, it is necessary to induce them into all the important affairs of the land.
In the year 2003, NDA government headed by former Prime Minister Shri. Atal Bihari Vajpayee kickstarted the dream Indian electricity generation project, under which an increment of 50,000 MW of electricity generation capacity was to be rendered to different generation plants around the nation. Out of 162 generation plants, 42 were situated in Arunachal Pradesh only and bore the onus of generating around half of desired value of 50,000 MW.
A couple of years later the work did start but soon afterwards, red tapes, lack of motivation on behalf of stakeholders and various environment issues (that are not being dealt at the bureaucratic level) have completely stalled the project as well as the great vision.
After a few years, Memoranda of Agreement(MoA) were signed between the state government and private developers, conducive to this, all the major projects were handed out for Survey and Investigation (S&I), which is counted among the initial steps towards the proceeding of approvals of various formal clearances.
Haplessly, everything came to a complete standstill and various projects have not even taken off even after fourteen years of the commencement of the programme. Special projects such as 2000MW Subhansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project (SLHEP) and 3000MW Lower valley Dibang Project (which is also supposed to be instrumental in controlling the floods in the lower Dibang valley) are still waiting in the queue to get the nod of the respective authorities.
Problems at the grass-root level.
Initially, it was thought of that the main problems are arising due to the resistance offered by the ethnic tribal groups of the areas which have no other source of income but their land which they are not ready to jeopardise for the formation of the hydroelectric projects. Their illiteracy, as well as complete disconnection from the world outside their territories too, aggravate their insecurity regarding proper resettlement. But soon, after proper scrutinies by various NGOs brought out the fact that this is only the half story.
The government till now has been reluctant in talking the tribal people out of their woes. The land acquisition act as well as successive failures of state governments around the nation, with respect to the resettlement of tribal people, has instilled an aura of suspicion and doubt around all the tribal communities of Arunachal Pradesh.
The problems of the tribals can be placed in three categories which we will discuss in the following points:
1. De-facto ownership : The tribal communities all around the proposed project areas have been living there since time immemorial and just like people in the cities who have built buildings, houses etc. in order to demarcate their area, the tribals too have set up their whole world around these forest areas and have been feeding themselves only through the products and services that they can get out of the natural vegetation and forests situated there. Their first problem is that they are not being considered as legitimate stakeholders of the area. The private companies have snubbed them off completely and the state government is also taciturn in contemplating about the welfare of these tribes. Being unable to search for a secured platform on any side, the tribes have resorted to offering complete resistance towards S&I and other programs. Since the de facto ownership of the land rests in the hands of the native people of the area, it is necessary to induce them into all the important affairs of the land.
2.Fear of being duped by the local governmental agencies: History is abound of instances in which local tribes were completely devastated owing to the formation of dams and hydroelectric projects in their endemic area. All the promises of constructive resettlement, in such cases, have proved to be spurious. Either the governments fail to reimburse compensation or many a time, the compensation amount is usurped by scoundrel officials. Unfortunately, in the both the cases, only the pauper tribals are the ones who incur most pain. Besides this, illiteracy, inability to do technical work and complete lack of knowledge of the outside world too paralyses the hopes of these people for a better future.
The process through which compensation is allocated is also inefficacious and hence there is a huge demand now to effect proper amendments in Arunachal Pradesh Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy(2008). The government talks about remunerating the tribals through monetary funds which according to the tribals is in toto futile since money, unlike their land and its productivity, will be exhausted in a very short period of time and afterwards it will become impossible for them to even survive in the world. Some even allege that such methods are government's plan of enticing the young tribals and ultimately they will be stinted.
3. Environmental Concerns: Various NGOs have alleged that the private stakeholders are medium-sized companies which have no experience in handling hydro-electric projects. Apart from this, any small mistake can lead to a wide-scale smothering of the exotic as well as endemic flora and fauna of the state. Arunachal Pradesh is mostly known for its unrivalled beauty and nature. This cradle of nature is home to so many endangered species of animals, birds, and aquatic species, all of which will be sabotaged up to an irreversible extent. They accuse that till now the state government has been considering important practices as mere box-ticking exercises and numerous procedures have been unfairly expedited and this can lead to ultimate pandemonium in the whole state.
The reluctance exhibited by the responsible authorities to mark out a comprehensive and conclusive program in order to tackle all the burning issues have added fuel to the fire thus exacerbating the problems of all the stakeholders.
Hence today there is a strong need to go ahead with a well-defined strategy which takes into account affordability, productivity, environment and above all the needs of the vulnerable tribal groups. Otherwise, no one will be able to salvage himself out of the disaster.
JAI HIND, JAI BHARAT
JAI MA BHARTI
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