After much delay, the foundation of the
1500-MW Tipaimukh multipurpose hydel project was laid by Union
power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on 16 December 2006. Present
at the function were Union heavy industries minister Santosh
Mohan Dev, Union minister of state in the PMO Prithviraj Chauhan,
chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh and a host of high dignitaries.
They showed the Centre’s determination to go ahead with
the project, ignoring locals’ strong opposition.
That day large parts of Manipur observed
a bandh in protest against the project. When the ministerial
team reached Thangal village in Tamenglong district after
a public meeting at Parbung, bandh supporters torched government
offices and destroyed public utilities at the Tamenglong district
headquarters.
The idea of a dam over the Barak river
was mooted as early as in 1954, but the detailed project reports
were not ready before 1984. The major twin objectives were
generation of power and flood control. In 1995, then chief
minister Rishang Keishing opposed the project. Three years
later, the Manipur assembly passed a resolution opposing it.
Meanwhile, several social and civil organisations were formed,
especially in Manipur, to resist the move. The Action Committee
against Tipaimukh Project is an umbrella organisation of as
many as 29 NGOs, most of which are based in Meitei and Naga
areas. It has continued to agitate against the dam, at times
calling bandhs.
Outer Manipur MP Mani Cheranemai raised
the subject in Parliament. Some Meitei militant groups also
said they were opposed to the project and opposition has also
come from across the international border. Bangladesh has
consistently voiced concern over the proposal. The deltaic
country, through which the Barak river passes before entering
the Bay of Bengal, is afraid the project will rob it of its
share of water in its lower reaches. Negotiations are on between
India and Bangladesh to arrive at an amicable settlement.
Apart from street protests, there have
been numerous commentaries by supposedly well-informed people
who oppose the dam, citing reasons ranging from the seismic
factor (there were at least two earthquakes exceeding 7 on
the Richter scale over the last 150 years within a 100 km
radius of Tipaimukh); that it will threaten the flora and
fauna and endangered species like pythons, gibbons, herbal
and medicinal plants, tribal land rights; and, of course,
that it would submerge as many as 90 villages within a 311
sq-km radius.
Despite all this, the Cenre went ahead. In 1999, the North
Eastern Electric Power Corporation was entrusted with executing
the project. In 2001, while Manipur was under President’s
rule, the state allegedly approved the proposal. In 2003,
the Public Investment Board and Central Electricity Authority
cleared the project at estimated cost of Rs 5,163.86 crore
— a steep rise from Rs 1,078 crore in 1984 (the latest
estimate, as in November 2005 was Rs 5,855.83 crore). In November
2005, NEEPCO floated global tenders and in July 2006, the
pre-bid qualification of the tender for the first phase was
opened. With the foundation laid on 16 December the ball has
been set rolling.
But will it really usher in an era of prosperity
for the region, as the government claims it will, or will
it be a symbol of dashed hopes, like the much smaller Khuga
Dam in Churachandpur? The same was said of the multipurpose
105-MW Loktak hydel project but now not a single day passes
without loadshedding and large parts of Manipur going without
power for days together.
The main dam is proposed to be built 500
metres downstream from the confluence of the Barak (locally
called Tuiluang ) and Tuivai rivers at Tipaimukh which is
close to the Manipur-Mizoram border. Most of the submerged
areas will be in Manipur — inhabited by the Zeliangrong
and Hmar tribes.
While various Naga and Meitei organisations
have voiced opposition, the Hmars, who occupy the dam site
itself, have maintained a low profile. The Inpui, the apex
body of the Hmar tribe, explains. “The Hmar people generally
favour the dam. We believe it will bring much needed development
to the region, which is still in the primitive stage. If Hmar
organisations do not speak up now, it’s probably because
of threats from various quarters to those who support the
dam and also because they want to project a coordinated response
to the issue.” The source also alleged that the high-profile
street protests were orchestrated by busy-bodies who did not
represent the affected people, and did not know the ground
situation and topography of the area.
True, the area may well be the most underdeveloped
part of the North-east — there are no motorable roads,
no electricity and poverty is acute. The area, at least on
the Manipur side, is rugged and unproductive from the farming
point of view. While large projects have their demerits and
the government’s record in terms of providing rehabilitation
and resettlement to the affected people in most big dams is
very poor, one major opposition weakness seems to be that
it just does not have an alternative, viable model of development.
The government touts the project as the
panacea for the region’s ills. Santosh Mohan Dev called
16 December a red letter day for the region and NEEPCO claimed
the “power generated will bridge the demand-supply gap
for Manipur and other North-east states”, that Manipur
would get free power at the rate of five per cent for the
first five years (equivalent to Rs 55 crore per year) and
this would jump to 10 per cent in the next 10 years and a
further 15 per cent in the next 20 years. Mizoram would get
one per cent of power. It is said the benefits would amount
to around Rs 300 crore a year. But the government has been
saying nice things for all its major projects, many of which
remain stillborn.
The government is pressing ahead, but there
are numerous hindrances ahead. On 22 February 2007, the Environmental
Impact Assessment Committee — an expert appraisal panel
for river valley and hydroelectric projects under the Ministry
of Environment and Forests — deferred clearance for
the dam for the second time. Moreover, since the project has
became more of an inter-tribe and inter-community political
battlefield and less of a purely development issue, it is
difficult to foresee how things will work out.
Courtesy - The Statesman |
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