As part of a strategic shift towards large and mega projects, Arunachal Pradesh has set a goal to build 19 GW of hydropower capacity with an estimated expenditure of Rs 1.9 lakh crore, Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein told the Assembly. Mein, who also holds the power and hydropower ministries, responded to a query from BJP member Tapi Darang during Question Hour by stating that the state has designated 2025–2035 as the “Decade of Hydropower” in order to hasten the sector’s development. According to him, the northeastern state has 58,000 MW of hydropower potential, or over 40% of the nation’s total, making Arunachal Pradesh a crucial player in India’s clean energy transition and its goal of having net-zero emissions by 2070.
Three of these projects—Heo (240 MW), Tato-II (700 MW), and Tati-I (186 MW)—have already been approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), and construction is already taking place at the project locations, he continued. According to the deputy chief minister, the state government and CPSUs are developing the projects through joint ventures, with the state owning a 26% equity position. He also revealed that the state will receive 12% free power from hydropower projects and is projected to generate an estimated Rs 4,520 crore in revenue between 2025 and 2035, increasing to roughly Rs 4,100 crore each year after that.
The projects are expected to generate about ₹821 crore annually for local area development, while dividends from the state’s equity share are estimated at ₹1,452.4 crore, the deputy chief minister said. The hydropower expansion is likely to create over 30,000 skilled direct jobs and around 16,000 indirect employment opportunities. He added that the hydropower department has been restructured, a policy to restore terminated large projects is in place, and a ROOT policy for small hydropower projects has been proposed.
The state is also revamping its Small Hydropower Policy 2017. On ongoing projects, two units (500 MW) of the Subansiri Lower project have been commissioned, with full commissioning expected by December, while the 2,880 MW Dibang project is under construction and targeted for completion by February 2032.
