China’s rapid dam construction across the border has prompted India to propose a larger countermeasure: an 11,000-MW dam on the Siang River in Arunachal Pradesh. However, this strategic plan is stuck in a bitter standoff with local native tribes. While the ₹113,000 crore project is meant to prevent devastating seasonal floods, secure India’s water rights and boost the local agricultural economy, it is stalled. With thousands of families facing displacement, the subcontinent’s largest planned dam cannot proceed unless the government overcomes a deep trust deficit with the people whose ancestral lands are under threat.
Geopolitical threat and powerful Siang
The race to control the waters of the Siang is fueled by massive water-engineering projects currently being implemented by China on the river’s upper reaches in Tibet. This includes a planned 60,000 MW “super dam” in Medog County, located just over the Indian border. This upstream mega-project gives Beijing substantial control over transboundary water flows, leaving downstream India exposed to two serious risks: flow disruptions that trigger ecological destruction during dry months, and devastating artificial floods during sudden water releases.
To counter these threats, the Government of India has given priority to the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP). The initiative consolidates two older proposals from the 2013 MoU (6,000 MW Stage-I and 3,750 MW Stage-II) into a single, massive storage-type dam near Geku village in Upper Siang district. The primary focus of this project is security, with power generation serving as a secondary benefit. NHPC Chairman and Managing Director Abhay Kumar Singh has been quoted in the media as saying that the tentative investment for the project was around ₹1,13,000 crore and its height would be 280-300 metres.
Siang project is not just to generate power but to reduce flood threats posed by China: Arunachal CM
Designed with an installed capacity of approximately 11,000 MW to 11,200 MW, the project will generate 47 billion kWh of electricity annually, making it the largest planned hydropower facility in the subcontinent. The reservoir’s massive 9 billion-cubic-metre storage volume serves two key strategic objectives: establishing initial physical “pre-use rights” to strengthen India’s legal claims under international transboundary water law, and creating a critical flood-buffer area to absorb sudden upstream surges.
Geography of Siang Basin
To understand the scale of the project, the mighty Siang has to be explored. Upstream in Tibet known as the Yarlung Tsangpo, the river originates in the Chemayungdung mountain range near Mansarovar at an altitude of 5,300 metres. It runs a distance of 1,625 km parallel to the Himalayas, passes through the Grand Canyon, and enters India near Gelling, where it becomes the Siang. The river runs 197 km to its confluence with its largest right-bank tributary, the 170 km long Shiomi River (formed near Tato by the Shi and Yomi rivers). It runs for 86.3 km till the Assam border, where it finally joins the Dibang and the Lohit to become the Brahmaputra. The basin is fed by a dense network of small streams, including the high-altitude Yar Gyap Chu, which flows through the Mechuka Valley and holds deep religious significance for the local Buddhist population.
Garden economy in danger
Surrounded by the alluvial-rich waters of the Siang River, the fertile delta region serves as the primary economic backbone of Arunachal Pradesh. For generations, the indigenous Adi and Galo communities have cultivated its slopes and valleys through terraced wet rice fields and diverse agroforestry, earning a steady household income of between ₹4 to ₹7 lakh annually. This shows that this land is as ancient as it is generous.
Under the state’s Horticulture Policy 2025-35, that bounty has translated into remarkable agricultural milestones, with Arunachal Pradesh today being India’s largest kiwi producer, harvesting more than 7,000 metric tonnes every year – and the first state to earn official organic certification for the fruit. Its mandarin oranges tell an equally impressive story: ranking second nationally with 84,000 metric tons, the prized varieties of Siluk and Dambuk have found their way to international shelves, including UAE markets. Meanwhile, in larger cardamom, the state leads the entire North-East region with a yield of 4,467 metric tonnes, a quiet dominance that speaks to what this land and its people are quietly capable of.
However, this prosperity is under constant threat. During the summer monsoon, the unstable, irregular currents of the Siang shift course causing severe bank erosion, carrying away topsoil, and triggering landslides that destroy terraced fields and fruit orchards. Proponents argue that building high-capacity storage reservoirs is a critical defensive and economic imperative that will prevent these course changes, secure irrigation, and establish Arunachal Pradesh as a self-reliant powerhouse.
standoff over displacement
Despite these potential benefits, local communities are strongly opposed to the dam. For the indigenous population, the river represents their identity. Gegang Apang, former chief minister and leader of the Adi community of Yingkiong in Upper Siang district, expressed deep fears about the threat the project poses to local life and the fragile ecosystem: “The Siang River is not just a resource; it is the lifeline of our people, our culture and our identity.”
Mr Apang emphasized that the Adi tribe holds a deep sacred reverence for the river, and refers to it as “Aane Siang” (Mother Siang).
Because ground protests have prevented NHPC from conducting pre-feasibility studies in the three proposed coordinates (Ugeng, Diet Diem and Parong – although Parong is likely to be avoided due to the Tuting Advanced Landing Ground airstrip), the exact number of villages to be submerged remains unknown. Estimates are highly polarized: protest groups put the number of displaced villages at 27, while the former chief minister estimates that 300 villages may be affected. This impasse is due to deep-seated distrust in the state and central governments, stemming from past corruption during land acquisition. Because the state is dependent on the national government for funding, local families are genuinely concerned that their cultivable lands and villages will be expropriated or displaced without adequate, legitimate compensation.
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Political will versus local opposition
While organizations such as Siang Swadeshi Kisan Manch (SIFF) and Adi Banne Kebang (ABK) lead the resistance, other local voices support development. A revered senior Buddhist monk at Tawang Monastery, speaking to this author on condition of anonymity, strongly supports the dam. He points to neighboring Bhutan, which shares an almost identical climate. “Bhutan has almost the same environmental ecosystem as Arunachal, but they have built many dams and have uninterrupted electricity. They also sell excess electricity to India to generate substantial income. The resistance against the dam is political, and it is not pro-environment,” says Bhikshu.
Supporters of the project also point to the historical precedent of the Sardar Sarovar Project in Gujarat. Although there was strong opposition to that dam, it was completed due to the strong political will of the government. Today, it successfully provides drinking water to cities and large-scale irrigation to agricultural lands. Proponents argue that Arunachal’s mountainous terrain is not a barrier to success, as proven by strong financial gains from Bhutan’s similar ecosystem.
a path to reconciliation
The government needs to abandon coercive tactics to resolve this impasse Engage in direct, transparent communication With SIFF, ABK and traditional village councils (kebangs). To build trust, the central government must provide legally binding, transparent guarantees for timely rehabilitation and fair compensation. This should include providing technical training as well as creating modern social infrastructure such as schools and health care facilities so that local youth can secure long-term, high-value employment in the construction and operation of the project.
Using a strategic combination of state and central leadership, similar to the successful implementation of the Golden Quadrilateral road project in the North-Eastern region, the government can transform protests of dissent into consensus campaigns based on genuine trust.
(Dr. Mathew Chandrankunnel, advisor, JIS University Kolkata, is an author, physicist, philosopher, theologian and Catholic priest whose work spans quantum mechanics, science-religion dialogue and research leadership)
