Arunachal Pradesh has informed the Centre that downstream impacts can be studied during construction of the 1,750MW Lower Demwe project which should be cleared as it will not affect Dibru-Saikhowa National Park in Dibrugarh district of Assam. “The downstream impacts are limited to a few months of the lean season and will be confined to low-lying flood plains in the Brahmaputra basin. These impacts can always be studied during construction of the project. A separate downstream impact study, which is being done by the Water and Power Consultancy Services, and the terms of reference of this study can be enlarged and more experts can be associated to arrive at required mitigation measures for downstream impacts,” the state said in its report to the National Board for Wildlife. Activists are upset over the state’s request to study downstream impact after the project gets commissioned. “Downstream impact should be studied before the projects gets commissioned and it should be linked to the environment clearance. The environment impact assessment notification should be revised to include downstream impact as part and parcel,” said Partha Das, programme head, water, climate and hazard programme of Aaranyak. Once the project gets commissioned, there can be no change in the project design, as in the case of the Lower Subansiri project, when downstream impact concerns are being raised. The NHPC has already said there cannot be any change in the design of the dam now. “It looks the stage is set for a repeat of the Lower Subansiri project in Demwe now,” a source said. Assam power minister Pradyut Bordoloi had publicly said the downstream state must be consulted during the decision-making process. The ministry of environment and forests had suggested in 2008 that the downstream impact of Tipaimukh on Assam be studied but nothing has been done till now. The Arunachal Pradesh government has said Demwe project is more than 100km upstream of Dibru-Saikhowa and no diversion of water is involved. “In power generation for various technical and non-technical reasons, there has to be a proper mix of thermal and hydropower and Arunachal Pradesh having about 40 per cent of hydropower potential of the country, holds the key. Comparatively, hydropower is much cleaner and carbon emission-free power and much safer for the present and future generations and, therefore, the country needs to concentrate on harnessing it,” the report says. The government is pushing the project as it has a 26 per cent equity and after 40 years, will revert to the state. On commissioning, 12 per cent of the power will be available free to the government. “Of the so-called 147 hydro-electric projects planned in the state, so far, only four projects have been accorded final clearance or are under construction even though the hydropower development started in Arunachal Pradesh more than 25 years ago,” it says. The Arunachal Pradesh government has received Rs 93 crore as “upfront premium” in 2007-8 for the project much before any clearances.