Dear Netters I too share Ankur Bora's cconcern over the lower Subansiri hydro-electric project as expressed in his letter today.
It appears KMSS leader Akhil Gogoi’s open letter to Assam’s Chief Minister has received wide publicity through the daily newspapers of Assam, and it is right that we should be all concerned about it. I read the letter and found that the information given in the letter is comprehensive and factual. This is a matter where there is no room for mutual disagreement between the KMSS leader and the Chief Minister of Assam because they are working for the same objective: welfare of the people and ensuring progress through scientific means. The Chief Minister of Assam is reported to have said that it is expected that the building of a major hydro-electric or river-dam project of the kind would draw flax from many quarters. India has a history of such protests wherever and whenever hydro-electric/river-dam projects were undertaken.The higher judiciary was involved. Now we take it for granted that the building of the project has proper scientific foundation. But what about the public reaction to it? From Akhil’s letter we now know that the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh as well as leading members of the public in Assam have voiced their protest. We may, therefore, conclude that the Government of Assam did not consult the public before deciding to go ahead with the project. In this context we must also consider the likely affects of China’s plans to dam the Brahmaputra at its source or elsewhere. The Government ought to suspend work on the project till the public is made aware of all the relevant issues and how are their life and property going to be protected without the usual red-tape. This reminds me of the Tata’s Nano car project in West Bengal which had to be abandoned because of the Government’s lack of consultation with the affected landowners and others. bhuban _______________________________________________ assam mailing list [email protected] http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
