With China seemingly on a dam-constructing spree over the Brahmaputra, including one near the point where the river enters India, the government has given the go-ahead for a big hydropower project in Arunachal Pradesh to mark India's stake in a river that is in many ways a lifeline of the strategic North-East.

The government has given clearance to the 800 MW Tawang-II hydropower project in Arunachal Pradesh this week, paving the way for its implementation, according to officials. The project had been pending clearance a long time.