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 northeast.

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.