India, May 30 -- Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu on Friday said a public hearing would be conducted once the pre-feasibility report for the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Hydropower Project (SUMHP) is completed and underlined that the consent of local residents would be key to the government's decision on the project.

The chief minister's comments come days after a meeting on the pre-feasibility report (PFR) for the contentious project in Upper Siang district spiralled into chaos on May 27 after villagers opposing the mega hydropower project stormed into the meeting and disrupted the proceedings.

Khandu stressed that the PFR was a preliminary, non-intrusive assessment only focused on geological viability.

"Once the PFR ...