Guwahati, July 21: Assam power minister Pradyut Bordoloi today categorically said the state government would not concede to the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) demand to halt construction of the 2,000MW Lower Subansiri Hydroelectric Project.
He said the Assam government was not in favour of halting construction of the project and castigated KMSS leader Akhil Gogoi for allegedly spreading misinformation, creating a fear psychosis in the minds of people about the project. "The fear psychosis is uncalled for. The ideology of Akhil Gogoi is to create anarchy," Bordoloi told reporters.
The KMSS is spearheading the movement against mega dams in the state.
He said the state government would take every possible step to assuage apprehensions of the people.
Allaying fears about environmental degradation and the possible adverse downstream impact of the project, he said the state government was taking up the issue of mitigating the possible adverse downstream impact with the Centre.
"We will not allow Assam to be destroyed and never push the people to the brink of destruction. The interest of the state is our prime consideration," the minister said, adding, "There are such dams in seismic zones in other parts of the country. The dam at Lower Subansiri will have a flood control cushion."
Bordoloi said the state government would also facilitate transportation of the turbines to the project site at Gerukamukh near North Lakhimpur on the border of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
Several organisations, including KMSS, All Assam Students' Union (AASU) and Assam Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chatra Parishad (AJYCP), have been preventing turbines and other equipment meant for the Lower Subansiri project from being unloaded from barges at Taripal Ghat of Biswanath Chariali in Sonitpur district.
The Lower Subansiri project, being implemented by the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC), is the biggest hydroelectric project undertaken in the country so far and is a-run-of-the-river scheme on the Subansiri that includes a 116-metre high concrete gravity dam.
Bordoloi added that there was no dam lobby in the state, as alleged by some quarters, and therefore, there was no question of succumbing to the pressure of any such lobby.
He said at present, the state was facing a power deficit of around 300MW, which was likely to rise to 1,000MW in the next five years. "It is imperative that we achieve self-sufficiency in power generation if we have to improve the situation," he said.
He said the problem with coal and natural gas-based power plants was the constant need for adequate supply of fuel and therefore, hydro electricity was the best option.
The project is likely to be completed in 2014.
Bordoloi said the eight-member panel ' comprising experts from IIT-Guwahati and Gauhati and Dibrugarh Universities ' was jointly constituted by NHPC and the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) at the initiative of the state government.
The minister said the government wanted to go for further opinions.
He said the Centre had constituted a joint steering committee to study means of mitigating the downstream impact and an inter-ministerial group apart from a two-member committee of experts constituted by the Planning Commission to examine the impact of the dam and its technological feasibility.
Bordoloi assured that all necessary measures for mitigating any possible adverse downstream impact of the dam will be taken by the government.
The Lower Subansiriproject is likely to be completed in 2014.
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