Overview

• On July 12, 2025, Riga village representatives led by Chief Minister Pema Khandu signed an MoU endorsing the pre-feasibility report for the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project.
• The Arunachal Pradesh Cabinet has requested a central development package for Siang and Upper Siang districts to fund social programs and infrastructure for affected communities.
• Opposition persists among 27 other villages coordinated by the Siang Indigenous Farmers Forum, which has denounced the Riga agreement as insufficient.
• SIFF president Lamok Padun announced a protest rally in Geku on July 14 to press concerns over displacement, livelihood loss and environmental risks.
• Declared a National Project in 2008, the dam is promoted as vital for downstream flood management in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Bangladesh and as a strategic counterbalance to China’s proposed Yarlung Tsangpo dam.