What happened
The Etalin Hydroelectric Project in Dibang Valley, Arunachal Pradesh, has been India's largest planned dam since it was first identified in 2003. Over two decades it accumulated controversy: the original developer, a Jindal Power joint venture, was mired in disputes over biodiversity threats, seismic risk in the Dibang basin, and displacement of Idu-Mishmi tribal communities. In December 2022, India's Forest Advisory Committee declined to grant forest clearance, effectively ending the project in its current form. Locals and scientists welcomed the decision. By 2025-2026, new environmental and forest clearances had quietly been obtained. On June 16, 2026, NHPC Limited signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Arunachal Pradesh government to take over the project. NHPC's first deliverable is a Pre-Feasibility Report, to be preceded by preliminary investigations. India's largest dam, 23 years in the making, is beginning at the beginning.