Itanagar, Oct 3 (PTI): With protests against the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP) continuing in parts of Arunachal Pradesh, Chief Minister Pema Khandu has invited the Siang Indigenous Farmers Forum (SIFF) for talks on October 5, but the cultivators’ body has sought to defer the meeting beyond October 11.
The meeting assumes significance as opposition to the proposed pre-feasibility report (PFR) survey for the mega hydropower project has intensified in parts of the Siang belt.
According to a communication by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) on October 1, the meeting was scheduled at 2.30 pm on October 5 at the conference hall of the East Siang deputy commissioner’s office in Pasighat.
The CMO invited the SIFF president along with 15 delegates for discussions on ‘vital issues’. The MP and legislators representing the Adi community were also expected to participate.
SIFF spokesperson Tagori Mize, however, said on Saturday that the forum has sought to hold the talks only after October 11.
Mize said SIFF would hold a series of internal deliberations from October 4 to 11 to discuss the project and the proposed PFR survey before arriving at a collective stand.
“The forum will sit together and collectively decide its position. At present, it is too early to comment on what we expect from the meeting,” Mize said.
He also linked the recent unrest and incidents of violence in parts of the Siang belt to what he described as inadequate outreach by political representatives and poor communication with villagers over the proposed project.
Mize further alleged that incorrect information had been circulated about the number of households that had consented to the PFR survey.
Opposition to the survey has grown in parts of the Siang belt, where sections of the local population have demanded wider consultations before the government proceeds with the exercise.
Khandu, meanwhile, said the government was looking forward to engaging with SIFF and hoped dialogue could help find an amicable way forward.
The CM has maintained that the proposed PFR survey is only meant to determine whether the project is technically feasible and has said there would be no further process if experts conclude that it is not feasible. PTI CORR MNB
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