Delhi HC refuses to hear plea by activist opposing Arunachal’s Siang mega project

Delhi High Court on Friday declined to entertain a plea filed by Arunachal Pradesh environmental activist Bhanu Tatak, who alleged she was unlawfully stopped from travelling abroad for educational purposes.

Tatak (30) was prevented by immigration authorities at Delhi airport on 7 September while attempting to board a flight to Ireland, where she had been accepted for a three-month course at Dublin City University.

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma said the court lacked territorial jurisdiction after government counsel pointed to "multiple criminal cases" pending against her in Arunachal Pradesh. The judge advised her to approach the appropriate state high court instead.

According to the Centre’s counsel Ashish Dixit, Tatak was stopped on the basis of a lookout circular (LOC) issued by Arunachal Pradesh Police. Such circulars are used by authorities to prevent individuals facing investigation from leaving the country to evade questioning or arrest. Police have alleged Tatak is named in “10 to 12 cases” tied to protests, including accusations that she incited violence and urged women demonstrators to physically confront a cabinet minister.

Her lawyer, senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, told the court the action was “arbitrary and unjustified”, violating Tatak’s Constitutional rights. Her plea also stressed that despite repeated requests, she and her family had never been given a copy of the LOC.

But beyond the courtroom battle lies Tatak’s more controversial role: she is legal advisor to the Siang Indigenous Farmers’ Forum and a prominent protestor against the proposed 11,500 MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project.

The massive hydropower initiative, billed as India’s largest, aims to tap the Siang river — the main stem of the Brahmaputra — but has sparked fierce opposition from local communities.

In December 2024, more than 100 civil society organisations and environmental groups in the country appealed to President Droupadi Murmu to withdraw paramilitary forces deployed to "facilitate" a pre-feasibility survey for the hydropower dam.

Environmentalists warn that the project could cause irreversible ecological damage. The Siang river basin, home to rich biodiversity and fragile ecosystems, faces the threat of submergence of vast tracts of forest land, disruption of fish habitats, and displacement of tribal populations. Critics also point out that large-scale damming of Himalayan rivers poses seismic risks in an earthquake-prone region.

Local opposition, led by forums such as the one Tatak represents, has centred on fears of loss of ancestral lands, erosion of indigenous culture, and forced resettlement. Farmers and community leaders argue that the project prioritises power generation for urban and industrial centres at the cost of Arunachal’s environment and its people.

Concerns are not confined to Arunachal alone. Experts have cautioned that altering the natural flow of the Siang could aggravate flooding downstream in Assam, and reduce sediment and water availability for agriculture in the Brahmaputra valley. Further downstream, in Bangladesh, which relies heavily on the Brahmaputra for irrigation and livelihoods, the project could disrupt riverine ecosystems and undermine food security.

For Tatak, the activism has now carried personal costs. Her blocked journey to Ireland, she says, is yet another attempt to stifle dissent against the Siang project. Whether the courts in Arunachal Pradesh will grant her relief remains to be seen — but her case has once again drawn national attention to a mega-dam whose promised electricity comes with heavy human, ecological and even cross-border price tags.

With PTI inputs