Only surveys are on for the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project, Arunachal Pradesh says amid village resistance
24 October 2026
Arunachal Pradesh has said that only technical and environmental surveys are under way for the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project, which is proposed at 11,200 MW. Those surveys are meant to produce a pre-feasibility report that will judge whether the scheme is viable at all. Resistance has spread through East Siang, Siang and Upper Siang districts, and a twelve-hour shutdown was observed in the Siang districts. An NHPC office and a political party office were set on fire at Pasighat, and several police personnel including the Pasighat Deputy Superintendent of Police were hurt. The State Government has issued an advisory asking people to go by official notifications rather than unverified claims circulating online. The project was first proposed by NITI Aayog in 2017 and would stand on the Siang, the stream that becomes the Brahmaputra in Assam. A December home department letter had earlier sanctioned nine companies of central armed police forces so that survey work could go ahead.
In plain words
SUMP Siang Upper Multipurpose Project — A proposed hydropower and flood-moderation project on the Siang river in Arunachal Pradesh.
PFR Pre-Feasibility Report — The first study that checks whether a project site is worth investigating further.
CAPF Central Armed Police Forces — The central police organisations under the Ministry of Home Affairs, such as the CRPF and the ITBP.