ITANAGAR, 9 Sep: In a representation to the chief secretary of the state government, the North East Human Rights (NEHR) on Wednesday sought an independent inquiry into the exemption from Social Impact Assessment (SIA) relating to the 2,220 MW Oju Hydroelectric Project.

Stating that the proposed 2,220 MW Oju Hydroelectric Project ranks among the largest hydropower projects planned in Arunachal Pradesh, the NEHR  said the preliminary notification for land acquisition, bearing No. LM/DRJ/P-300/2023/437-3, dated 4 July 2024, issued by the Upper Subansiri Deputy Commissioner, is stated to have recorded that there was "no Social Impact Assessment for the land proposed to be acquired, on the basis that the acquisition area had no human habitation or settlement."

The organisation said property surveys were subsequently carried out in 2025-26 to identify project-affected properties and compensable interests in the same area. "This sequence - finding of 'no habitation' followed by surveys identifying compensable properties" - is, on its face, internally inconsistent and calls for independent verification, the rights body said.

The NEHR said that the organisation supports lawful and orderly development of the Oju project. However, it requested that the statutory preconditions for land acquisition be verified and complied with. "Procedural compliance at this stage is the surest way to protect the project itself from later legal challenge, injunction, or reversal," the representation said.

In favour of its appeal, the organisation said Sections 4 to 9 of the RFCTLARR Act, 2013, make a Social Impact Assessment a mandatory precondition to any acquisition for a public purpose. "The SIA is intended to identify affected families, evaluate livelihood and displacement impacts, assess impact on land held under customary or community tenure, and enable an independent expert group to weigh social costs against public benefit before acquisition proceeds. Consent and consultation requirements under the Act, and the Gram Sabha safeguards under PESA in Scheduled Areas, are built around the findings of this assessment," the representation said.

The NEHR said that an independent inquiry be constituted to probe into the "factual and legal basis on which the Oju Hydroelectric Project was dispensed with a Social Impact Assessment, identifying the specific statutory provision relied upon."

It demanded verification of whether the conclusion of "no human habitation or settlement" recorded in preliminary notification No. LM/DRJ/P-300/2023/437-3 dated 4 July 2024 accurately reflected ground realities at the time it was recorded, including customary, community and forest-based land use, in light of the objections placed on record at the Environmental Public Hearing of 10 September 2024 and thereafter.

The organisation also prayed to "examine whether customary tribal landholders, jhum cultivators, and community resource users were identified and consulted before the project was exempted from SIA," and sought publication of reports, surveys and records relied upon for dispensing with the SIA, in the interest of transparency.

The organisation further said that full protection of Scheduled Tribe rights and procedural safeguards throughout the remainder of the acquisition process be ensured.