Rs 6400000000000: China building largest dam on Brahmaputra? India decides to…

China is once again trying to assert its dominance by building the world’s largest dam on the Brahmaputra River. Through this dam, it is attempting to expand its trade by trampling its neighbours. However, India has now taken a major and decisive decision in response. The Indian government has unveiled a ₹6.4 lakh crore hydroelectric project on the Brahmaputra River. This decision is a strategic one, which will benefit many Indian states in the future. The

construction of this hydroelectric project will comfortably meet the electricity needs of the northeastern states and also supply power to other states. The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) announced on Monday that the central government has developed a ₹6.4 trillion ($77 billion) transmission plan to transfer more than 76 gigawatts of hydroelectric capacity from the Brahmaputra basin by 2047 to meet growing electricity demand.

In a report released on Monday, the CEA said the plan includes 208 large hydropower projects in 12 sub-basins of the northeastern states with a potential capacity of 64.9 GW and an additional 11.1 GW from pumped-storage plants.

Why is this project so important for India?

In fact, the transboundary nature of the basin and its proximity to China have made water management and infrastructure planning a strategic issue. Following China’s construction of a dam on the Brahmaputra, India fears that the dam could reduce water flow into Indian territory by up to 85 percent. Furthermore, China could misuse the dam in the event of war. This also threatens to damage the Brahmaputra’s downstream regions. The Brahmaputra River, which originates in Tibet, China, and flows through India and Bangladesh, holds significant hydropower potential in its Indian territory, particularly in Arunachal Pradesh near the Chinese border.

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