Etalin hydroelectric project (EHEP)

Why in news?

• The Forest Advisory Committee has asked the Arunachal Pradesh government to file a fresh proposal for forest diversion and the construction of the Etalin hydroelectric project (EHEP) due to non-compliance to conditions stipulated by the FAC and the overwhelming pushback against the project in the region.

More about the news:

• The EHEP will necessitate the diversion of 1,165.66 hectares of forest land and the felling of more than 280,000 trees in the area, which is one of the world’s mega biodiversity hotspots.

About the EHEP:

• The project is located in the Dibang Valley (a biodiversity hotspot), Arunachal Pradesh.
• It was proposed in 2008. The plan combined two run-of-the-river schemes with limited storage requiring concrete gravity dams on rivers Tangon and Dri – tributaries of Dibang river.
• It ran into several controversies over concerns of ecological damage, forest invasion and tribal displacement (Idu-Mishmi tribes).

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Etalin hydroelectric project, recently seen in news, is located in which of the following river basin:

(a) Imphal River

(b) Barak River

(c) Dibang River

(d) Kameng River

Answer