IMPHAL, October 10: The National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Project is a racially discriminatory project to the people in North East, said United NGO`™s Mission Manipur (UNM-M) secretary U Nobokishore.
He was speaking at a press conference on the UN Committee on racial discrimination and Dibang Dam at the Manipur Press Club today, which was jointly organised by North East Dialogue Forum, Centre for Research and Advocacy, Manipur (CRA), Social Action Development Organisation (SADO), People`™s Platform Secretariate (PPS) and Village Women Coordinating Committee (VWCOC).
The organisations also released a charter of demand which strongly condemned the activities of NHPC to construct the dam and suggested the establishment of a Special Investigation Team to investigate against the Arunachal Pradesh government and NHPC on the issue of how their planning procedures are process and another high level internal expert panel to investigate the construction of the dam.
The charter of demand also include that India should respect and protect the rights of the indigenous people to use their land, forest, water as part of their self-determination to decide what kind of development people want to have and to conduct a research on social, economic and cultural impact on the upstream and downstream of the dam by engaging neutral experts from universities in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam or Manipur.
The organisations have also suggested electricity provision to the people to be made through mini-hydro project instead of mega dams and to take free, prior, informed consent under the guidelines of the UN declaration on the rights of the indigenous people.
Nobokishore said `Since, 2007 people in Upper Assam like Tinsukia and All Assam Student Union (AASU) has been vehemently protesting against the Dibang Dam and its potential impact to the People in downstream.`
They were not allowed to take part at public hearing at Roing, he said before adding that this is the clear violation of free, fair and informed consent manifested by the UN Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples and ILO convention -107. The foundation stone for the construction of the dam was laid by former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on January 31, 2008.
Nobokishore pointed out that the project after the construction will be one of the biggest projects in terms of dam height and generation of power in India in which the project is going to be finance by the World Bank and added that it is a clear fact that what the banks do is to work for the profit.
He further raised a question asking why indigenous people like Idu-Mismi should sacrifice their life for the profit of banks that finance dam constructions.
However the NHPC and India were violating the mandate of UN Special Rapporteur of Indigenous People, UN Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Special Rapporteur on Business and Human Rights such as the state duty to protect against human rights abuses by third parties, including business, the corporate responsibility to respect human rights and greater access by victims to effective remedy, both judicial and non judicial, he added.