By Our Reporter
Shillong: “The cash-trapped Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL) will be in a financial mess if the Corporation goes ahead with the creation of third unit of the Myntdu Leshka Hydro Electric project,” said the secretary of the Association of Power Engineers (APW) and Associations Coordination Committee (ACC), A Dkhar.
“The MeECL will surely collapse if the third unit is added to the Myntdu Leshka Hydro Electric project, which was initially designed only for two units”, Dkhar told The Shillong Times recently.
It may be mentioned that the total cost of the project, which was initially estimated at Rs 360 crore, has now been revised to Rs 965 crore, almost a three-fold jump.
The project will cost more than Rs 1200 crore, sources, meanwhile, said adding due to an increase in the cost, loans were availed from various financial institutions and the MeECL would have to pay Rs 30 crore annually (only the interest portion).
“This will put the MeECL in dire straits,” sources said. The ACC Secretary said the creation of the third unit would also hamper the functioning of the first two units. “It is impossible to generate 126 mw as its maximum generation capacity is 90mw and that too during rainy season,” he said.
“The damn is small and the volume and discharge of water is limited, so there is no way that it will generate up to 126 mw”, Dkhar said while questioning the credibility of the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), which had approved the creation of the third unit.
It may be recalled that the commissioning of the first unit of the power project, which was slated for October 15, has been further delayed. The State Government is now planning to commission all three units of the project by March, 2012.