UN envoy critical of proposed big dams in North-East

Critical of the proposed big dams in the North-East, an UN envoy has said such developmental projects should not infringe upon the rights of the local indigenous people.

Critical of the proposed big dams in the North-East, an UN envoy has said such developmental projects should not infringe upon the rights of the local indigenous people.

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"I have learnt that the government proposes to set up some 100 dams in the North-East of India. It may be a clean
source of energy, but it should not be carried out at the cost of the rights of the local indigenous people," Chairperson of United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Victoria Tauli Corpuz said here yesterday during the course of a lecture.

She said the government and the agencies implementing the projects, should take prior consent of the locals.

Issues such as deforestation, displacement and impact on environment should be addressed by the government, she
added.

Blaming developed nations for the adversities of climate change, she said those countries are now eyeing the
tropical forests in the developing countries for rescuing them.

"They (developed countries) have saturated the environment with carbon emission, and now they are asking
developing nations to resort to carbon neutral developmental activities," she said.