Shillong, Aug. 13 : The Meghalaya deputy chief minister in-charge, power, Mukul Sangma, today said the proposed 500MW thermal power project in East Garo Hills to be executed by Neepco will provide employment opportunities to at least 750 people in the state.
Addressing a news conference, Sangma said it was the erstwhile Congress-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance government which had signed a MoU with Neepco to start the thermal power project at Narenggre in East Garo Hills. But the NCP-UDP-led Meghalaya Progressive Alliance government had shelved the project when it came to power, he added.
“Now we want to revive the project so that we can tide over the power crisis in Meghalaya,” Sangma said.
At present, Meghalaya is heavily dependent on hydel power projects, which are inadequate to meet the requirements of the state. Other sources for generating the electricity are yet to be tapped.
Though Meghalaya has hydro-power potential of around 3,000MW, the present power generation of the state is only 175MW, far below the current demand of over 600MW.
Considering the over-dependence on hydro electricity, the government had decided to exploit the state’s potential in thermal power, Sangma said.
The deputy chief minister met the Union power minister recently in Delhi and got an assurance that the Centre was keen to start a thermal power project in East Garo Hills at the earliest.
Garo Hills is the worst affected area because of irregular power supply. If completed within three-and-a-half years, the thermal power project would help tide over the power crisis in the Garo Hills region.
Sangma admitted that though Meghalaya has abundant coal reserves, the export of the mineral to Bangladesh has not provided any financial help to the state.
“But if we can tap the coal reserve in West Khasi Hills, Jaintia Hills and Garo Hills to generate electricity, it would be of great help to the state,” he said.
