Why in News?

• Recently, The Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric project (SLHEP) on the Assam-Arunachal border was recently hit by a landslide during pre-monsoon rain.

Highlights

• SLHEP is an under-construction gravity dam (nearly 90% of the work completed) with capacity 2000 MW (8×250 MW).
• It Is the biggest hydroelectric project undertaken in India so far and is a run of river scheme on river Subansiri.
• A run-of-river dam is one in which the flow of water in the river downstream of the dam is the same as the flow of water upstream of the dam.
• In other words, the dam doesn’t hold back/store water behind it; it runs with the river.
• The construction of SLHEP is being undertaken by National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) Limited
• Subansiri, or “Gold River” is the largest tributary of the Upper Brahmaputra river.
• It originates from the Tibetan Himalayas and makes its way to India via (Miri Hills) Arunachal Pradesh.
• The project had been kept pending due to local agitation over several dam safety and administrative issues involved in the implementation of the project like:
• SLHEP contravenes the 1980 Brahmaputra Board Act by transferring the work of Water Resources Department of Subansiri Basin from the Brahmaputra Board to the public and private sector.
• As assessed by IIT-Roorkee, there is also the issue of increased seismic threat levels to the dam.