National Hydroelectric Power Corporation(NHPC) has announced that the 2,000-MW Lower Subansiri Hydroelectric Project along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border will start operation next year by August. It is the largest hydropower project under construction in the country with an annual power generation capacity of 7421.59 Million Units (MU).
Defying the protests relaunched by various organizations, including the AllAssamStudents’ Union, to halt the construction of the mega dam along the seismically active interstate-border zone, NHPC officials said that the all eight units of the dam would be operational by August 2023.
The project triggered a political storm and has been an issue in every election in the state since 2011. The opposition parties have cornered the ruling government, citing threat to life and property in the downstream areas of Assam from the dam. Construction had come to a halt in 2011 following massive protests. As per NHPC sources, due to the prolonged delay, the cost of the project escalated to around Rs 20,000 crore from the earlier estimate of Rs 6,900 crore.
The project is the first cascaded dam on the Subansiri. As per NHPC, it is primarily for with flood cushion and designed to moderate floods with integrated operation of proposed middle and upper projects.