Upper Siang Hydropower Project, Objectives, Merits and Demerits

Context: Protests over displacement have delayed India’s 11.2 GW Upper Siang project, pushing NHPC to fast-track site selection due to its strategic importance near the China border.

Upper Siang Hydropower Project

• Upper Siang Hydropower Project is a proposed 11,000 MW hydropower project on the Siang River in Arunachal Pradesh. It is a multipurpose hydroelectric project aimed at flood mitigation, maintaining the Siang River’s natural flow, and electricity generation with a capacity of 11,000 MW.
  • Reservoir capacity: 9 billion cubic metres (BCM).
  • Installed capacity: 11,000 MW.
• The project is being jointly constructed by the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) and the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO).
• Upper Siang Project is positioned as a response to China’s 60,000-MW dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet’s Medog County.
• It is located in the Upper Siang District, Arunachal Pradesh, near the Siang River (Brahmaputra).
• Designed to mitigate flooding from upstream water releases by China and maintain river flow during lean seasons.
• However, the project has raised concerns among the local Adi tribe in Upper Siang and Siang districts, who fear displacement and loss of farmland and homes.

Concerns Related to the Project

• The area which will be submerged due to the construction of the reservoir is inhabited by the Adi Tribe. It is an indigenous community with a strong connection to the Siang River.
• Residents rely on pani kheti (settled agriculture along riverbanks) for sustenance, as the hilly terrain offers limited farming opportunities.

About Siang River

• Origin: Near Mount Kailash, Tibet. It is called the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet.
• It flows over 1,000 km eastward before entering Arunachal Pradesh as the Siang, and eventually merges with the Brahmaputra in Assam.

• Known as Tsangpo in Tibet
• Major cities along the Tsangpo in Tibet: Lhasa, Shigatse
• Enters India in Upper Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh near Tuting
• Known as the Siang River in India
• Flows through the East Siang district in Arunachal Pradesh
• Major city along Siang River: Pasighat
• Travels nearly 52 kilometres in India before reaching Assam
• Joins the Lohit and Dibang rivers in Assam
• Combined rivers form the Brahmaputra River
• Brahmaputra flows through Assam and Bangladesh before emptying into the Bay of Bengal

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