Itanagar: Deployment of heavy security at venues of public hearings for hydropower projects in the state is obviously put in place to maintain order, rather than disturb peace, said Aruanchal Pradesh hydropower parliamentary secretary R T Khunjuju here on Thursday.
In a statement, Khunjuju said the state government was concerned about the wrong propaganda spread by some organisations that the government was engaging heavy security forces for conduction of public hearings for hydro-power projects and thereby aggravating the law and order situation.
The state government will never resort to any means whatsoever that would hamper peace or deteriorate the law and order situation, he explained. He clarified that deployment of security forces for conduction of public hearings is a decision taken by the local administration in view of threat perception of violence or destruction of public properties as witnessed earlier.
Highlighting previous public hearing, he said the law and order was broken and peace breached during the last public hearing on the Lower Siang Hydro Project by a section of anti-project protestors, who burned down the pandal erected for the hearing, damaged vehicles as well as furniture and destroyed several houses including few belonging to innocent villagers. The avoidable violence of April 17, 2012 may have prompted the administration to take precautionary measures this time around, he said. (UNI)
