Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Itanagar: Arunachal Pradesh Rajya Sabha MP Tai Tagak has demanded a total safety overhaul for Himalayan hydropower projects. He wants tougher river monitoring and better flood management. Tagak laid out his case on October 30 in New Delhi. He spoke at a meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Water Resources. Senior officials from the Ministry of Jal Shakti and the Central Water Commission listened.
The state sits on a razor edge. It shares borders with China, Bhutan, and Myanmar. Every district carries a river name. Tagak told the committee: "The state's specific geographical and climatic conditions must be taken into account while planning and implementing water resource and flood management projects."
The MP slammed the current oversight by the Central Water Commission and the Brahmaputra Board as inadequate. He wants constant, systematic surveillance of water levels. He is also pushing for more cash and technical backing under the Flood Management and Border Areas Programme. This money would fix erosion and build better disaster defenses.
He pointed to the October 2023 collapse of the Teesta-III dam as a warning. Glacial Lake Outburst Floods pose a lethal threat to downstream settlements. The Ministry of Jal Shakti claimed on August 8, 2024, that the CWC watches 902 glacial lakes each year. Officials also greenlit a Rs 150 crore risk mitigation project for Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh. Tagak remains unconvinced. He insists that run-of-the-river hydropower projects need rigorous safety standards. He is demanding better teamwork between the National Disaster Management Authority, the state government, and federal water agencies.
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