Itanagar: The people of Komkar village in Upper Siang district on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Arunachal Pradesh government for the preparation of the pre-feasibility report (PFR) of the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP).
The project was declared of national importance by the Centre in 2008.
The MoU was signed in the presence of Chief Minister Pema Khandu, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Ojing Tasing, Mariyang-Geku MLA Oni Panyang, Chief Secretary Manish Kumar Gupta, and senior government officials.
The MoU was signed on Tuesday with the consent of 245 out of 257 households in Komkar village, representing over 95 per cent of the community, reflecting broad-based support for conducting PFR-related studies, a statement from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said.
In his address, Khandu expressed gratitude to the people of Komkar for becoming the first village in Upper Siang district to extend formal support for PFR studies, following similar agreements by four villages in Siang district earlier.
He clarified that the current agreement is limited strictly to the preparation of the pre-feasibility report and assured that no construction decision would be taken without exhaustive consultations and consent of all project-affected families (PAFs).
The chief minister expressed gratitude to the Central government for approving a Rs 350 crore special development package for Siang and Upper Siang districts, aimed at strengthening education, healthcare, livelihoods and infrastructure.
Reiterating the government’s commitment to transparency and public participation, the chief minister said that public opinion and consent would remain central at every stage of the pre-construction process after the completion of the PFR.
He urged the people of Komkar village to constitute a village development committee to identify priority programs under the package.
ALSO READ: Aaranyak conducts Hoolock Gibbon awareness programmes in Arunachal Pradesh’s Namsai
The Siang Upper Multipurpose Project is envisioned as a large, strategically important multipurpose initiative aimed at hydropower generation, flood moderation, and ensuring ecological flow in the Siang basin.
