A Politico-economic assessment of hydro-power projects on river Brahmaputra in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam using content analysis
Student name: Ms Meghna Chakraborty
Guide: Dr Nandan Nawn
Year of completion: 2015
Host Organisation: saciWATERs, Secunderabad, Telangana
Supervisor (Host Organisation): Dr Aditya Bastola
Abstract: The continuously increasing power demand has compelled India to look for renewable sources of energy. In the quest for these renewable energy sources, hydro-power has emerged as a promising source. It can be further established from the fact that in terms of exploitable hydro-potential available, India is ranked 5th in the World. Out of all the basins in India, Central Electricity Authority has identified Brahmaputra Basin as the ‘potential future powerhouse of India.’ Currently, there are 168 dams proposed in the state of Arunachal Pradesh to tap the enormous 49,126 MW of electricity, of which most of the produced electricity is entailed to be exported outside the North East Region. This has resulted in conflicts coming from indigenous people as well as local organizations that are concerned about the environmental and socio-cultural impacts of such a large scale construction in Arunachal Pradesh; a seismologically sensitive zone. In addition to it, various evidences of negligence in the environmental clearances of these dam projects have increased the public agitation. While the Central and the State governments view the immense hydro-potential as a way to development, the inhabitants of the region are apprehensive given the price they might have to pay for this deal. This paper is an attempt to look deeper into the issues of distress against mega projects in the region of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam through the lens of political economy to understand the intricacies of diplomacy, power play, environmental implications and social consequences involved in them. Keywords: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, River Brahmaputra, Hydro-power, Political Economics
