Pasighat, Nov. 10 -- Amid sustained protests in Arunachal Pradesh against the 11.2 GW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP), another major hydropower project in the state has received an in-principle recommendation for forest clearance, with the proposed development requiring the diversion of around 470 hectares of 'unclassed forest' land and the felling of more than one lakh trees.

The 1,000-MW Naying hydroelectric project, to be developed by North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Limited (NEEPCO), is proposed on the Siyom river, a tributary of the Siang, across Arunachal Pradesh's Shi Yomi and Siang districts.

According to the minutes of a meeting held on October 23, the Union Environment Ministry's Forest Advisory Committee (FAC)...