We, the South Asian Just Transition Alliance (SAJTA), welcome ADB’s decision to withdraw from the flawed 500 MW Assam Solar Power Project. This project risked displacing over 20,000 Indigenous families in Karbi Anglong. Its cancellation is a major win for environmental justice and Indigenous rights. We congratulate the Indigenous communities and activists who relentlessly resisted this harmful project. Their unwavering protest has set a powerful precedent for people’s movements across South Asia.

From the outset, this project violated the foundational principles of free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC), ignored constitutional protections under the Sixth Schedule, and sidelined community voices through misinformation and coercion. The Karbi, Naga, and Adivasi communities, through the Karbi Anglong Solar Power Project Affected People’s Rights Committee, stood united in the face of systemic disregard, asserting their right to land, culture, and self-determination.

“The victory of genuine strength of people coming together. Indigenous villagers fighting all the odds. This is a message about how communities and advocates should stand together. We would want ADB to be sensitive to community concern and make more robust safeguards for vulnerable communities and ecology.” - Pranab Doley, Indigenous rights defender from Karbi Anglong.

This cancellation is not just a retreat from one destructive project, it is a clear message to all development institutions: climate action must not come at the cost of Indigenous peoples, ecosystems, and constitutional rights.

Ms. Vidya Dinker, Coordinator of Growthwatch, India and Executive member of SAJTA emphasized-

“Just transition cannot be imposed top-down on communities with a heavy hand. The idea of justice in energy must necessarily include meaningful consultation, make for true participation in dignity, and seeking of consent. The Karbi, Naga and adivasis of Karbi Anglong have shown us all what resistance rooted in community power is.”

ADB’s exit is a result of relentless organizing, from local protests to regional advocacy, to direct engagements with financial institutions. SAJTA stands with the people of Karbi Anglong, who have once again shown that community-led action can reclaim justice and halt false climate solutions.

Hasan Mehedi, Chief Executive of Coastal Livelihood and Environmental Action Network (CLEAN) and Member Secretary, South Asian Just Transition Alliance (SAJTA) is thrilled to victory and said-

“This is a moment of hope and strength. The people of Karbi Anglong proved that international finance cannot trample over communities with impunity. It’s a landmark step for just transition across South Asia.”

SAJTA reiterates collective demand: any future renewable energy investments in South Asia must be rights-based, locally informed, ecologically sensitive, and democratically governed.