Dibang dam: Downstream alliance gives Assam, Arunachal 10-day ultimatum

A group speaking for communities living downstream of the 2,880 MW Dibang Multipurpose Project has given the Assam and Arunachal Pradesh governments 10 days to act on a list of demands, warning that it will otherwise block the movement of dam equipment through its area, Northeast Now reported from Tinsukia on Monday.

The Dibang Dam Assam-Arunachal Downstream Action Alliance, which was formed on October 17 this year, wants both governments to step in at once.

What the alliance is asking for

The group's main demands are:

• PAF status for downstream families: it wants households living below the dam to be recognised as Project Affected Families, a status that is normally given to people displaced or directly hit by a project and which carries compensation and rehabilitation benefits.
• Public hearings in Tinsukia and Dibrugarh: it says people in the two Upper Assam districts should get a formal hearing on the project's impact.
• Protection works before commissioning: it wants guide walls, embankments and protection walls built along the river stretch downstream of the dam site. The alliance cited an August 26, 2024 letter from the Arunachal Pradesh government and said such works should be finished before the dam starts operating.
• 12% free power for Assam: pointing to the free power Arunachal Pradesh gets from hydro projects on its soil, the group argued that Assam deserves a share because it bears the downstream flood and dam-break risk and its roads are used to haul construction material and heavy machinery to the site.

The warning

The deadline runs for 10 days from the date the two governments receive the notice. If the demands are not met, the alliance said it would not allow any construction material, machinery, tools or equipment meant for the Dibang dam site to pass through its territory.

Neither state government's response to the notice had been reported at the time of writing.

Why it matters

The Dibang Multipurpose Project, on the Dibang river in Arunachal Pradesh's Lower Dibang Valley district, is planned as one of India's largest hydropower and flood-moderation projects. Most supplies for the remote site move by road through Upper Assam, which gives downstream groups in Tinsukia and Dibrugarh real leverage.

The ultimatum also lands amid a wider debate on big dams in the region, especially the proposed 11,200 MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project, which has faced sustained protests in Arunachal's Siang Valley. The Arunachal government has said the Siang project is still at the pre-feasibility stage, and it recently released four protesters held over their opposition to it, calling the move a goodwill gesture to open the way for talks.

NEInsider will follow up on how the two governments respond before the deadline.