NTCA flags threat posed by Arunachal Pradesh hydel project

GUWAHATI: The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA)'s management effectiveness evaluation (MEE) for tiger reserves has flagged the threat to Arunachal Pradesh's Pakke Tiger Reserve (PTR) posed by the proposed hydroelectric project on the periphery of the protected area.
The 2018 MEE report said a 90-MW hydroelectric project has been proposed just 200m below the confluence of the Papu and Pasa rivers that merge on the northern periphery of Pakke.
"Water is to be channelized through an underground tunnel and released in the upstream region of the Kameng river. The Papu river runs along the boundary of the tiger reserve (Pakke) for a distance of about 20 km from the site of the proposed project and joins the Kameng (river)," the MEE report said.
The report added, "It is this stretch of 20 km which makes the northern boundary (of Pakke) porous. The stretch may become more porous and easier to cross if the water is diverted through an underground tunnel. In that scenario, the threat faced by the tiger reserve would increase."
Although the field director of PTR is opposed to the proposed project, MEE suggested that senior officers of the field director's office should take up the matter strongly with the state government.
PTR is spread over 862 sq km area in East Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh. The protected area covers about one-fifth of the 4,134 sq km geographical area of East Kameng. PTR is surrounded by Kameng river in the west, Pakke river in the east and Assam's Nameri Tiger Reserve (NTR) in the south. "The rivers make human entry difficult and serve as natural barriers (to PTR)," the MEE said.
The MEE said the northern boundary of PTR is porous, especially along the Papu river. It pointed out that miscreants enter the PTR for hunting wild animals for meat. Hunting is one of the reasons for low population of ungulates, the prime prey base for tigers in Pakke.
"To make the matter worse, it has been proposed to divert the water through underground tunnel for (the proposed) hydroelectric project. It the project comes through, crossing the river will be easy and the border will become more porous," the MEE added.