Guwahati: The Union environment ministry’s Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) has recommended environmental clearance for the 1,720 MW Kamala Hydroelectric Project in Arunachal Pradesh — a mega dam that will require diversion of 3,278 hectares of forest land and the felling of 23,40,213 trees in one of the Northeast’s dense forest landscapes.
The proposal, cleared during the 47th meeting of the EAC, now awaits Stage-I Forest Clearance, without which the project cannot proceed.
The Kamala project, estimated at ₹23,764.01 crore, is designed as a storage scheme with flood moderation and 1,720 MW installed capacity. It is part of the larger Subansiri basin hydropower cascade. The project envisages construction of a 216 m high dam.
The Committee explicitly recorded concern over the proposed felling of over 23 lakh trees, noting that the project is located in a “very dense forest area”.
It stressed the need for a “precise and well-managed action plan” for ecosystem restoration and adequate mitigation measures before forest diversion is approved.
Of the total 3,858.89 hectares required for the project, 3,278.09 hectares is forest land. The submergence area below the full reservoir level (FRL 455 m) alone will cover 2,665 hectares.
The EIA records the presence of 29 Schedule-I mammal species under the Wildlife Protection Act in the study area, including clouded leopard, leopard cat, Assamese macaque, hoolock gibbon, slow loris, Indian pangolin, great hornbill and king cobra.
The EAC directed that the Wildlife Conservation Plan approved by the Chief Wildlife Warden must be implemented in a time-bound manner, underscoring ecological sensitivity.
The region falls in Seismic Zone VI, the highest risk category, adding another layer of concern given the 216-metre-high concrete gravity dam proposed on the Kamla River.
Public hearing concerns
During public hearings held in September 2025 across Kamle, Kra Daadi and Kurung Kumey districts, residents flagged loss of traditional fishing grounds and breeding areas, submergence of culturally significant sites, risks of landslides and slope instability, muck dumping in steep terrain, impacts on mithun grazing areas, and air and noise pollution from blasting.
The EAC reviewed the action plan submitted by NHPC and found it satisfactory after deliberation.
However, diversion of forest land is still pending with the Ministry, and Stage-I Forest Clearance remains under process.
With environmental clearance recommended but forest clearance pending, the project now stands at a critical regulatory stage — one that will determine whether more than 23 lakh trees in Arunachal’s Lower Himalayan forests will ultimately be felled.
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