Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu has convened a meeting with two Adi organisations on October 13 to discuss concerns over the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project, but the Siang Indigenous Farmers’ Forum Youth Wing has announced a complete boycott of government talks until four demands are met.
According to a notice issued by the chief minister’s office on October 9, the meeting will take place at 10 am at the conference hall of CMO-2 in Niti Vihar. Adi Baane Kebang Youth Wing president Oki Dai and Adi Students’ Union president Tani Tapo have been invited along with their respective delegations.
The meeting follows concerns raised by the two organisations at a joint news conference in Pasighat on October 3. The proposed project, also referred to as SUMP, has become the focus of a wider dispute involving questions over land, livelihoods, security operations and the process being used to assess the project.
In a public notice issued on October 10, the SIFF Youth Wing said it would not participate in peace talks, negotiations or consultations on SUMP until the state addressed its demands. The forum has sought the immediate withdrawal of Central Armed Police Forces from traditional villages and lands in the Siang region, along with the withdrawal of all FIRs and legal proceedings against villagers and activists associated with the anti-dam protests.
It has also demanded the release of community members in custody and compensation for people injured during security operations. The compensation demand extends to damage allegedly caused to private vehicles and village properties.
The forum appealed to community organisations, student unions, clan representatives and political leaders to stay away from government-sponsored consultations on the project. It warned that organisations or individuals who participate in such meetings would be held accountable under its resolution.
“The CM can meet any Adi group, CBO or union on any topic, but not SUMP,” anti-dam activist and SIFF Youth Wing legal adviser Ebo Mili said. He questioned the purpose of the proposed meeting while security forces remained deployed in the region.
The dispute follows a series of confrontations between anti-dam protesters and authorities during pre-feasibility report activities for SUMP. The state government has maintained that the exercise is intended only to assess the project’s technical and economic viability and does not represent a final decision to construct it.
Opponents have raised concerns about possible displacement, environmental damage and the impact on ancestral lands and livelihoods. These concerns place the proposed project within a broader governance question: how large infrastructure proposals are assessed and discussed in areas where community consent, customary land relationships and security measures are closely connected.
There was no immediate confirmation from the Adi Baane Kebang Youth Wing or the Adi Students’ Union on whether their representatives would attend the October 13 meeting in view of the boycott call. The chief minister’s scheduled meeting remains the next formal development identified in the dispute.
