Expert panel gives green nod for India’s third-largest hydropower project in Arunachal Pradesh

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An expert panel of the Union Environment Ministry has recommended environmental clearance for the 2,220 MW Oju hydroelectric project in Arunachal Pradesh’s Subansiri valley, as per minutes of the panel’s September 12 meeting.

This will be India’s third largest hydel project to get a green nod after the 3,087 MW Etalin project and the 2,880 MW Dibang project, all of which are being built in Arunachal Pradesh. In fact, the Etalin project, which is being executed by state-run SJVN Ltd, was granted approval by the environment ministry’s expert advisory committee (EAC) on July 30 this year.

The 2,220 MW Oju hydroelectric project will be located in the remote area of Upper Subansiri district in Arunachal Pradesh. It will utilise the flow of the Subansiri river for generation of electrical power and will have a significant gross storage of 15.66 Million Cubic Metres (MCM).

The project will be built at a cost of Rs. 24,942.01 crore and is likely to take at least five years to be completed. It is being executed by Oju Subansiri Hydro Power Corporation Pvt Ltd.

The EAC while recommending the project for environment clearance directed the company to include Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOF) and flash flood scenarios while constructing the hydropower plant. It asked the company to establish real-time monitoring and early warning system (EWS) at the project site in coordination with the state disaster management authority (SDMA) and local administration, along with community awareness and mock drills for preparedness.

Arunachal has maximum hydro potential

Currently, the installed hydropower capacity in Arunachal Pradesh is a meagre 1,256 MW. But according to government data seen by Moneycontrol, Arunachal Pradesh has an exploitable hydropower potential of 50,394 MW, which is 38 per cent of India’s total hydel potential of 1,33,410 MW.

Apart from Etalin and the Dibang hydel projects mentioned above, the government is also building the 2,000 MW Subansiri hydro project, the commissioning of which is likely by May, 2026. Besides, there are a number of smaller projects like the Heo Hydro Electric Project (240 MW) and the Tato-I Hydro Electric Project (186 MW) of NEEPCO, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of NTPC Limited.

The government is also planning a mega hydel project of 11,000 MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP) in Arunachal Pradesh, as a means to counter a 60,000 MW hydropower project being built by China on the Yarlung Tsangpo river in Tibet (known as the Brahmaputra in India), near Gelling, in Arunachal Pradesh.

However, India’s plans for the 11,000 MW project has been stuck for a decade due to opposition from local communities. It is yet to reach the environmental clearance stage.

The Chinese project, construction of which began this July, involves five cascade dams and is expected to be completed by the 2030s. Once ready, it will be three times more powerful than the Three Gorges Dam -- which is also located in China and is the world’s largest hydropower station as of now.

Developing projects in Arunachal Pradesh supports India’s clean energy transition and strengthens energy security. At the same time, ramping up hydropower in this strategically sensitive border state also carries a geopolitical dimension, as it helps assert India’s presence along the frontier with China while boosting infrastructure and local development.