The National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) confirmed on Tuesday that construction was on at the Zangmu site on the Chinese side of the Brahmaputra river, prompting the government to take up the matter with China at a “political” level.

In its presentation to the Committee of Secretaries (CoS) formed to assess Chinese plans regarding possible diversion of the Brahmaputra’s water, the NRSA presented evidence of “houses, construction/excavation, and movement of trucks” in and around a 3-4 km range at the site.

Accordingly, the CoS, headed by Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar, decided that the issue was too significant to be handled by the expert-level mechanism on flood-water data-sharing. Instead, it decided that it would be better to tackle the issue at the political level through the Ministry of External Affairs.

The meeting of the CoS, also attended by RAW chief K C Verma, representatives of Environment, Water, Power, and External Affairs Ministries, decided to “constantly monitor” various aspects of the construction through different sub-groups set up by the CoS.

The CoS also decided that a subgroup on power should coordinate with all departments concerned to “expedite” hydro-power projects in Arunachal Pradesh.

Sources said it’s possible that construction was for a water storage project. However, the real intention of the project isn’t very clear.

The NRSA’s findings confirm The Indian Express report last month on the ongoing construction for a dam on the river which China calls the Yarlungzangbo (better known as Yarlong Tsangpo to the Tibetans) at Zangmu.

It’s learnt that the Zangmu hydroelectrical project was inaugurated on March 16 this year and the first concrete was poured on April 2. The 1.138-billion Yuan (1 Yuan = $0.15) project has been awarded to a five-company consortium with China Gezhouba Group along with NIDR (China Water Northeastern investigation, design and research) involved in its construction.

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