India's state-owned National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) has sought permission to use 3,278 hectares of forest land in Arunachal Pradesh for the 1,720MW Kamala hydroelectric project, which could mean cutting down more than 2.34 million trees, Desh Rupantor reported, citing The Indian Express.
The proposal was submitted to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, whose Forest Advisory Committee was due to consider it on 23 October. The project would harness the Kamala, a right-bank tributary of the Subansiri, using forest land in Kra Daadi, Kurung Kumey and Kamle districts.
The identified forest holds 2,340,213 trees: about 1.508 million in the Hapoli forest division and 831,000 in the Daadi division. Of the proposed area, 439 hectares is very dense forest and 1,119 hectares moderately dense; surveys across the seasons recorded about 155 tree species.
The project includes a 216-metre concrete gravity dam with flood-control works. Around 2,960.49 hectares of forest could be submerged by the dam and reservoir. A social impact assessment says 5,440 families in 126 villages could be affected.
As compensation, afforestation on 7,018 hectares in districts of Madhya Pradesh has been proposed. A site inspection report by the ministry's Shillong regional office found the area lies outside any national park, wildlife sanctuary or elephant corridor, but warned that wildlife habitat could be harmed; experts say a larger reservoir could cut off animal movement between the banks.
In January 2025 the ministry's expert committee on hydropower recommended environmental clearance, with final clearance conditional on in-principle approval for the use of forest land. That decision is now awaited.
Photo: Banks of the Subansiri, Ankur d / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Source: Desh Rupantor
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