GUWAHATI, April 11 - The All Assam Students� Union (AASU) today asserted that the Government of India must respect the views of the experts of the State on the Lower Subansiri dam project.
In a statement here, the AASU said that the Central Government must hold talks with the State experts. It added that though an eight-member committee comprising four members from the State was constituted to assess the feasibility study of the project and the impact in the downstream areas, the Centre has now overlooked the views of the State experts, which is unfortunate. The AASU will never accept this, the statement added.
The AASU reiterated that it is not against development, but the interests of the State should not be compromised. The student body also reminded the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister of the statements that they had made on the Subansiri project before the last General Elections and alleged that they had totally changed their stand after being elected to power.
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in the Assam Legislative Assembly, Debabrata Saikia has accused the Centre of maintaining double standards on the issue. He said that before the elections, Rajnath Singh took part in an agitation against the project, but now the Centre is supporting the project. He also alleged that the views of the experts of the State on the project were overlooked.
