Siang dam: Nagaland forum backs villagers, says kebang decisions must stand

Opposition to the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP) in Arunachal Pradesh has drawn support from across the state border, with a Nagaland conservation network urging the state and Central governments to respect the decisions of the Adi community's traditional village councils.

The Nagaland Community Conserved Areas' Forum (NCCAF) set out its position in an open letter to the people of the Siang Valley. The letter is signed by the forum's chairman, Heirang Lungalang, and its secretary, Seve R. Vadeo, according to Echo of Arunachal and India Today NE.

'Collective decisions must be respected'

The forum said communities that have protected and lived off their ancestral land for generations should have the right to decide its future. It argued that a decision taken collectively by a village council should not be replaced by signatures gathered from individual households, or by a few residents claiming to speak for a whole village, warning that such methods could divide communities.

The letter cited two resolutions. In August 2025, the General Bogum Bokang Kebang at Geku declared the Siang "Aane Siang", a goddess river, and resolved against the dam and its pre-feasibility survey. In March 2026, the kebang of Ramku village resolved that nobody could speak for the village without the Village Council's authority.

Harvest season concerns

NCCAF said it was worried by reports of farmers struggling to reach their fields during the harvest, youths being detained and women keeping vigil along the riverbanks. It drew parallels with Naga communities' own experience of land rights and security deployments in farming areas.

The forum rejected the idea that opposing the mega dam meant opposing development. It noted that the same kebang that rejected SUMP had said it was open to smaller dams on the Siang's tributaries, and pointed to Adi conservation rules banning hunting and fishing with explosives, poison and electric current, citing Gobuk village as an example.

Wangchuk's appeal

Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk has also backed the protesters. In a letter seeking the President's intervention, made public last week, he called the Himalayas "the water towers of India and the shield of our borders" and said border communities should be treated as "trusted partners in nation-building, not as suspects for raising their voices."

The 11,000 MW-plus SUMP, planned by NHPC in Upper Siang district, has faced months of protests over its pre-feasibility report. An anti-dam foot march from Geku is currently heading to Itanagar, while the state government has said it is open to talks.