Shillong, Oct 16 (PTI) The government should take prior consent of locals before giving go-ahead to the proposal to build 100 dams in the North-East and such projects should not infringe into the rights of indigenous people, an UN envoy has said.
"I have learnt that the government proposes to set up some 100 dams in the North-East. It may be a clean source of energy, but it should not be carried out at the cost of the rights of the local indigenous people," Chairperson of United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Victoria Tauli Corpuz said here yesterday during the course of a lecture.
She said the government and the agencies implementing the projects should take prior consent of the locals.
Issues such as deforestation, displacement and impact on environment should be addressed by the government, she added.