Environmental public hearing for 1,000MW Naying hydroelectric project to be held in Arunachal’s Shi-Yomi on November 12

Itanagar: The Shi-Yomi district administration will conduct the environmental public hearing for the 1000MW (4x 250) Naying hydroelectric project at Yapik community hall on Nov 12, an official said.In a circular on Wednesday, Shi-Yomi deputy commissioner Tungge Loya asked the public of the project-affected locality to attend the hearing.The proposed 1000MW is a run-of-the-river project over Siyom (Yomgo) river and the project will be implemented by the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO). The construction work, including a concrete dam, an underground powerhouse and tunnel is likely to begin around 2028 and the project is planned for commissioning by 2032.The project is expected to generate 4,966.77 GWh of electricity.The project received central electricity authority concurrence in 2013 and the construction work was expected to start in 2015 but environmental and social considerations have hampered it.The project requires diversion of forest land and will impact tens of thousands of trees. Additionally, the project faced protests related to concerns about dams and their environmental and social impacts.The Naying project is one of the five hydro power projects coming up in the district, the others are 240MW Heo, 500MW Hirong, 186MW Tato-I and 700MW Tato-II.On Oct 7 during the Cabinet Aapke Dwar at Miao in Changlang district, the state govt had approved the formation of joint venture companies between NEEPCO and Arunachal Pradesh Hydropower Corporation Ltd for the Naying hydroelectric project to advance the state’s hydro power mission under Decade of Hydro Power (2025-35), targeting 19Gw capacity and attracting investments, creating jobs and contributing to India’s net-zero goals.