‘Consult people before undertaking dev projects’

| Staff REPORTER |
ITANAGAR, Sept 10: Addressing the 26th annual day of the GB Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development (GBIHED), Rajiv Gandhi University vice chancellor Prof Tamo Mibang emphasized the need to consult people before undertaking developmental projects.
“People should decide how to exploit their local resources”, Mibang said adding that “masters of the land are the objects of development.”
Prof Mibang was delivering his lecture as part of the popular lecture series of the GBIHED-North East Unit at Banquet Hall here today. The lecture was the first ever in the series of the popular lecture of the GBIHED-North East Unit, commemorating the 126th birth anniversary of Pt Gobind Ballabh Pant.
Calling upon the govt to converge national interests with people’s welfare, Mibang said the economy must be developed in a balanced way.
Admitting to the necessity of electricity, Mibang said on cautionary note that people have a relationship with nature and their land is not exotic territory for rapid extraction of natural wealth.

In Arunachal Pradesh alone, there are over 140 hydropower projects that have been planned for construction and several of the larger projects have faced opposition from people both within and outside the state. Recently, there has been an increase in opposition to some of the larger dams in the state as well.
While the Centre and state governments have often dismissed such protests as being motivated by “vested” interests, Mibang said, “It is not a question of resistance and isolation but a defence of culture.”
Voicing the concerns of sustainable and equitable development, Chief Secretary Ramesh Negi said that there should be connect with the govt in policy making by the academicians so that advantages of evolving systems could be taken.
Saying that the contradictions in the society for environment and development while balancing profit and greed are the important decisions to be made, Negi added, the traditional value system which imbibes cultural values is the strength for overall development of a society
PCCF & Principal Secretary, Environment & Forests, Omkar Singh, in his address, said that the govt and its agencies can not work in isolation and have to include people and community participation in all programmes, policies and schemes.
Urging the people of the state to plant trees and protect the environment, Singh said that Arunachal could get the Green Bonus from the Centre for the propagation and protection of the green cover in the state.
He divulged that the Arunachal has 24000 sq kms of jungle under dense category which absorbs 500 million tonnes of carbon di-oxide, thereby mitigating global warming and climate change.
GBIHED-North East Unit scientist in-charge, Dr P K Samal spoke on the institute and its achievement and role in development of the Himalayan region.