🗞️ Why in News A 12-hour shutdown against the proposed 1,605 MW Subansiri Upper Hydroelectric Project, also called the Menga dam, was held in Arunachal Pradesh’s Upper Subansiri district on Monday, 26 October 2026. The Hindu reported that violence during the shutdown led to the cancellation of a public hearing on the project; The Arunachal Times described the bandh as largely peaceful apart from a few heated exchanges, and did not mention a hearing. In the Siang valley, police said 30 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) had been deployed across East Siang, Siang and Upper Siang districts after protests against the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP).
Two proposed dams on the Brahmaputra’s river system drew protests in the same week. They stand at very different points: one has a detailed project report before the Central Electricity Authority, the other is still at the pre-feasibility stage. What an aspirant should carry from the week is the static frame behind both: the rivers, the stages of environmental clearance, and the place of the public hearing within them.
Upper Subansiri: The 26 October Shutdown
Several student and community organisations, led by the All Tagin Students’ Union (ATSU), called the shutdown, The Hindu reported; The Arunachal Times also named the All Upper Subansiri District Students’ Union (AUSDSU) among the organisers. One trigger, according to The Hindu, was an alleged attempt by the police to detain ATSU president Tadak Pakba late on Saturday night, 24 October.
The organisers’ three demands, as The Arunachal Times reported them:
- clarification on an “alleged violation of Section 44 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS)” and on the alleged attempt to detain Tadak Pakba;
- “permanent withdrawal of the proposed 1,605 MW Menga dam project”;
- an update on the demands raised during “an earlier indefinite bandh”.
The two newspapers describe the day differently, and the difference matters:
| The Hindu (Guwahati dateline) | The Arunachal Times (Daporijo dateline) | |
|---|---|---|
| The day | A district official, declining to be quoted, said the shutdown was “marked by arson, vandalism and clashes with the police”, with much of the violence concentrated in Daporijo | “The bandh remained largely peaceful from dawn to dusk, apart from a few heated exchanges between protesters and police personnel” |
| The NHPC office | Protesters “reportedly damaged or burnt equipment, computer peripherals and surveying instruments” at an office associated with NHPC | Bandh supporters “allegedly vandalised an office rented by the NHPC and set documents and office equipment on fire” |
| The police | Not detailed | A police vehicle was “reportedly damaged” and a police constable, a driver attached to the Daporijo police station, was injured |
| The hearing | The violence led to “the cancellation of a public hearing” on the project | No hearing is mentioned |
The Hindu does not say which hearing was called off. The background matters:
- On 24 March 2026 the Arunachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board held the project’s environmental public hearing in Upper Subansiri district, “as part of the statutory process for granting of environmental clearance”, The Arunachal Times reported at the time.
- On 4 April 2026 the Land Affected People’s Forum alleged that this hearing had violated the EIA Notification, 2006 by denying entry to project-affected people, and demanded a fresh one. That remains an allegation.
Two Dams, Two Stages
Subansiri Upper and SUMP: two proposed dams, two stages
Covers each project’s river, size, stage of clearance and the October 2026 protests.
Subansiri Upper. The project brochure of NHPC Limited (August 2025) lists the Subansiri Upper project among projects awaiting clearance as of June 2025, and gives its record:
| Date | Step |
|---|---|
| 12 August 2023 | Memorandum of agreement signed by the Government of Arunachal Pradesh and NHPC for two projects of 3,800 MW in all: Subansiri Upper at 2,000 MW and the 1,800 MW Kamla project |
| 9 May 2025 | Detailed project report (DPR) submitted to the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) |
| 23 May 2025 | Acceptance meeting held; three of the DPR’s 12 chapters had been cleared |
The two NHPC figures differ: 2,000 MW in the 2023 memorandum and 1,605 MW in the August 2025 brochure, which gives no reason.
SUMP. The same brochure lists the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project at 11,200 MW, among new initiatives indicated by the Ministry of Power. Its pre-feasibility report (PFR), considering three alternative sites, Uggeng, Dite Dime and Parong, was submitted by NHPC to the Ministry of Jal Shakti on 30 December 2022. For context, on 5 August 2024 the Minister of State for Power, Shripad Naik, told the Rajya Sabha that the project “is presently at preliminary stage of investigation”, and that “Environment Clearance (EC) is required before start of construction of such project.” The Indian Express reports that SUMP is still at the pre-feasibility survey stage, and that in September Chief Minister Pema Khandu said it would not be “rushed beyond the feasibility stage”. The brochure adds that SUMP’s parameters, still being finalised, may affect those of the 2,700 MW Siang Lower project.
Both are proposals. Neither has reached construction, and each needs environmental clearance before it can.
The Siang Valley: Arrests and the China Argument
In the Siang valley, protests against SUMP turned violent in Pasighat, the headquarters of East Siang district, on 23-24 October; our 26 October roundup covered the first response. The Arunachal Times reported on 27 October that 30 CAPF companies were stationed across East Siang, Siang and Upper Siang districts, and that 53 criminal cases had been registered across the region, both figures given by Inspector General of Police Hibu Tamang. The paper also reported 69 persons arrested and notices served to 201 offenders under various sections of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). In Pasighat, The Hindu reported, four women had tear gas-induced problems and a few security personnel were injured in stone-pelting.
Why people protest. Locals, mostly of the Adi community, fear large-scale displacement and harm to the environment, The Hindu reported. “Even if the PFR is done, we will not allow the construction of the dam,” Dubit Siram, general secretary of the youth wing of the Siang Indigenous Farmers’ Forum (SIFF), told The Indian Express. “We will be refugees in our own land.”
Why governments back it. The State government maintains that SUMP is essential to counter China’s proposed upstream dam and is a national security issue, The Indian Express reports. The Hindu writes that the Centre considers the project necessary to counter a 60,000-MW hydropower project that China is building upstream on the Yarlung Tsangpo. For context, China’s own announcement said less: Xinhua reported on 25 December 2024 that the Chinese government had approved the construction of a hydropower project in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River, with no capacity, cost or exact site given. In the background, China Daily later reported a groundbreaking ceremony on 19 July 2025 in Nyingchi, for five cascade hydropower stations with an investment estimated at around 1.2 trillion yuan. Himanshu Thakkar of SANDRP told The Indian Express that “we don’t even know the basic dimensions of the Chinese project.” India and China discuss transboundary rivers under an Expert Level Mechanism established in 2006, ANI reported in August 2025.
How old the idea is. Plans to harness the Siang and the Subansiri date back to 1982, when the Brahmaputra Board proposed three smaller projects, The Indian Express notes; in 2017 the proposed Siang Upper Stage-I and Stage-II were merged under one umbrella, which became SUMP.
The Public Hearing: What the EIA Notification, 2006 Says
The hearing at the centre of the Subansiri dispute is a creature of one legal text, the EIA Notification, 2006 (S.O. 1533(E), issued on 14 September 2006).
| Provision | What it says |
|---|---|
| Four stages | Screening (Category B only), scoping, public consultation, appraisal, “in sequential order” |
| Who must consult | All Category A and Category B1 projects, with a few exceptions such as the modernisation of irrigation projects |
| What consultation is | The process by which “the concerns of local affected persons and others who have plausible stake in the environmental impacts” of a project are ascertained |
| Two parts | A public hearing at or near the site, district-wise, for local affected persons; and written responses from others with a plausible stake |
| Who holds the hearing | The SPCB (or a Union Territory Pollution Control Committee), which forwards the proceedings to the regulatory authority within 45 days of the applicant’s request |
| Who presides | The District Magistrate or Deputy Commissioner, or a representative not below the rank of Additional District Magistrate (Appendix IV, para 4.0) |
| Postponement | Not allowed “unless some untoward emergency situation occurs”, and then only on the District Magistrate’s recommendation (Appendix IV, para 3.3) |
| If a fair hearing is impossible | Where the agency reports that the hearing cannot be held so that local views are “freely expressed”, the regulatory authority may decide that consultation need not include it |
| Appraisal | The Expert Appraisal Committee (or its State-level counterpart) scrutinises the final EIA report and the “outcome of the public consultations including public hearing proceedings” |
| Hydro projects | Schedule item 1(c): 100 MW and above is Category A; 25 MW to below 100 MW is Category B. Both dams here are far above the line |
For the developer, the hearing is a statutory step towards clearance; for the people, it is the one formal forum where local concerns go on record before experts appraise the project. A hearing that cannot be held, or one that people say they were kept out of, weakens that record for both sides.
Map Work: Arunachal’s rivers and the dam sites
Map 1: Arunachal Pradesh and the upper Brahmaputra
Arunachal Pradesh: the Subansiri and Siang protest sites
Covers Daporijo, Pasighat, the Siang valley and the upper Brahmaputra; dam sites are not marked.
Places to Mark
| Place | Where it is | Why it is in this story |
|---|---|---|
| Daporijo | Headquarters of Upper Subansiri district, Arunachal Pradesh | Much of the 26 October violence was concentrated here, The Hindu reported |
| Upper Subansiri district | Arunachal Pradesh | The 26 October shutdown against the Subansiri Upper (Menga) project; the site of the project’s environmental public hearing |
| Subansiri river | A principal tributary of the Brahmaputra in India; joins it on the right bank | The river on which the Subansiri Upper project is proposed |
| Pasighat | Headquarters of East Siang district, Arunachal Pradesh | The 23-24 October violence over SUMP |
| Siang river and valley | The Yarlung Tsangpo of Tibet, entering Arunachal Pradesh as the Siang (Dihang) | SUMP’s pre-feasibility report considered three alternative sites, Uggeng, Dite Dime and Parong (not marked on the map) |
| Dibang and Lohit | Rivers that meet the Siang downstream | With the Siang, they form the Brahmaputra |
| Brahmaputra in Assam | The river flows on as the Brahmaputra in Assam after the three meet | Downstream of both proposed projects |
| Yarlung Tsangpo, Tibet (China) | The river’s course upstream of India | China approved a hydropower project in its lower reaches (Xinhua, 25 December 2024) |
Map Facts for Prelims
- The Brahmaputra rises in the Kailash ranges of the Himalayas at about 5,150 m and flows about 2,900 km through Tibet (China), India and Bangladesh before joining the Ganga (Central Water Commission).
- Its principal tributaries in India: the Dibang, the Lohit, the Subansiri, the Manas, the Tista, the Dhansiri and the Champamati (Central Water Commission).
- The Siang basin in India is bounded by the eastern Himalaya on the north, the Subansiri basin on the west and the Dibang basin on the east (a 2013 study for the Central Water Commission).
- Lengths: the Siang runs about 293.9 km in India; after the Siang, Dibang and Lohit meet, the Brahmaputra runs about 195 km to its confluence with the Subansiri, on its right bank (same study).
- Hydropower potential: the same 2013 study put the Siang sub-basin’s potential at over 18,000 MW, to be harnessed through 44 projects.
Mains Lens: Power, Security and Consent
- The case made for SUMP: the State calls it a national security issue and the Centre sees it as a counter to China’s upstream project. With no capacity, cost or exact site in China’s own announcement, the case rests on Indian estimates, and Thakkar’s point about the missing data cuts both ways.
- The case against, in the protesters’ words: displacement, damage to the environment and the fear of becoming “refugees in our own land”. For the Adi of the Siang valley and the people of Upper Subansiri, the dams are first a question of land.
- Consent and process: the EIA public hearing is the legal channel for local consent. A hearing reported cancelled, and an earlier one people allege they were kept out of, both weaken the record an expert committee must later rely on.
- Order and trust: arrests, criminal cases and the CAPF deployment sit uneasily with the Chief Minister’s assurance that SUMP will not be rushed and with the confidence-building steps of 13 October, covered in our 14 October roundup.
- Size is a moving target: NHPC’s own figures for Subansiri Upper differ (2,000 MW in the 2023 MoA, 1,605 MW in its 2025 brochure), and reports print SUMP’s size differently. Firm, published numbers are a precondition for informed consent.
Way Forward
- Hold any further hearing as the 2006 Notification prescribes: at or near the site, presided over by the District Magistrate, a representative not below Additional District Magistrate or another district-level officer the District Magistrate authorises, and only where local views can be freely expressed.
- Answer the forum’s complaint on the March hearing on the record, before appraisal goes further.
- Publish what is known: the alternative sites, the likely submergence and the benefits, so that affected communities argue from facts.
- Separate law and order from the project: investigate the violence through due process, without letting it decide the project’s fate either way.
- Use the Expert Level Mechanism to press China for data on its project, since India’s response rests on it.
What comes next: the CEA’s appraisal of the Subansiri Upper DPR, any fresh public hearing on it, and SUMP’s pre-feasibility work. None of these has a date in the reports.
UPSC Relevance
GS Paper 1: Salient features of physical geography; drainage systems: the Brahmaputra and its Himalayan tributaries.
GS Paper 2: India and its neighbourhood: transboundary rivers and China; protection of vulnerable communities in development projects.
GS Paper 3: Infrastructure: energy (hydropower); conservation and environmental impact assessment.
Prelims: EIA Notification, 2006 (stages, public hearing, Category A hydro); NHPC; CEA; the Brahmaputra and its tributaries; the Siang (Dihang); the India-China Expert Level Mechanism (2006).
Mains: “Large hydropower projects in Arunachal Pradesh are defended as strategic answers to China’s dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo, yet face sustained local protest. Examine how the environmental clearance process, and the public hearing in particular, can reconcile strategic goals with community consent.” (GS3, 250 words)
📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia
Prelims, statement-ready facts:
- Subansiri Upper Hydroelectric Project (Menga dam): 1,605 MW, NHPC; DPR submitted to the CEA on 9 May 2025 (NHPC brochure, August 2025)
- MoA of 12 August 2023, Arunachal Pradesh and NHPC: Kamla (1,800 MW) and Subansiri Upper (then 2,000 MW), 3,800 MW in all
- SUMP: PFR on three alternative sites submitted to the Ministry of Jal Shakti on 30 December 2022
- SUMP’s alternative sites in the PFR: Uggeng, Dite Dime and Parong
- Environmental clearance is required before construction of such a project starts (Ministry of Power, Rajya Sabha, 5 August 2024)
- EIA Notification, 2006: S.O. 1533(E), 14 September 2006; stages: screening, scoping, public consultation, appraisal
- Public hearing: held by the SPCB at or near the site; the DM or an officer not below ADM presides; proceedings sent within 45 days
- EIA 2006, Schedule item 1(c): hydro of 100 MW and above is Category A; 25 MW to below 100 MW is Category B
- Brahmaputra: rises in the Kailash ranges; about 2,900 km through Tibet (China), India and Bangladesh; joins the Ganga
- The Siang (Dihang) meets the Dibang and the Lohit to form the Brahmaputra; the Subansiri joins it on the right bank
- India-China Expert Level Mechanism on transboundary rivers: established in 2006
Prelims, the traps:
- “Cancelled hearing” is The Hindu’s report; The Arunachal Times did not mention one, and the SPCB held the project’s EIA hearing on 24 March 2026
- SUMP is 11,200 MW in NHPC’s August 2025 brochure; The Arunachal Times prints 11,000 MW
- “60,000 MW” is the figure in Indian reports; Xinhua’s report of China’s approval (25 December 2024) gave no capacity, cost or exact site
- A public hearing may be postponed only for an untoward emergency, on the District Magistrate’s recommendation
- Both dams are proposals: SUMP is at the pre-feasibility stage; Subansiri Upper has reached the DPR stage
Mains, arguments and keywords:
- Strategic and energy goals need the consent of affected communities; the EIA public hearing is the legal channel for that consent
- Keywords: public consultation, informed consent, displacement, transboundary rivers, water security, Expert Level Mechanism, trust deficit
Interview, be ready for:
- “Should India build a mega dam on the Siang to counter China?” The strategic case is real, but SUMP is at pre-feasibility; data, consent and appraisal come first.
Sources: The Hindu, “Violence marks shutdown against proposed dam in Arunachal Pradesh”, Rahul Karmakar, 27 October 2026 (print). The Arunachal Times, “Bandh affects normal life in Upper Subansiri”, Biku Aka, and the report on the CAPF deployment in the Siang valley, both 27 October 2026; earlier reports of March and April 2026. The Indian Express, Explained, on the Siang dam project, 27 October 2026. NHPC Limited, project brochure (August 2025). Ministry of Power, Rajya Sabha Unstarred Question 1591 (August 2024). Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, EIA Notification, 2006 (consolidated to March 2025). Central Water Commission, Brahmaputra basin page, and the Siang sub-basin cumulative impact study (December 2013). Xinhua (December 2024). China Daily (July 2025). ANI (August 2025).
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