By Barnes Mawrie, SDB
Every now and again Leshka hits the headlines for the wrong reasons. I believe by now Meghalayans have become almost allergic to that name. Personally, I feel ashamed to hear people discussing Leshka. For those who do not know, Leshka is a beautiful and scenic river in Jaiñtia Hills, but alas! These days it has acquired a notorious name. On this river a dam had been commissioned decades ago for generating hydro electric power to ease the growing demand for energy in the state. The project has been going on for many decades now but it has never seen the light of day. Leshka has become a symbol of corruption, inefficiency and mismanagement by MeECL.
First of all, no one has doubts about the shady affairs behind the project. The project that began with a sanction of about Rs. 300 crore, has now bloated to almost Rs. 900 crore, a threefold leap in dearness. Where has the money gone? MeECL engineers are seen building mansions in different parts of the city and having a comfortable life style. Where do they get that money from? I do not want to be judgmental nor do I intend to question their sincerity, but this is the natural question that comes to every common man who judges by the proportion between the input and the output. Not long ago, the newspapers reported an incident at the Leshka office where important documents related to the project were gutted by the fire. Was it an accident or a planned event? By principle of induction it appears that some responsible persons might have planned to erase all records so as not to leave any trace for anti corruption investigation.
Secondly, Leshka is a symbol of inefficiency. Had the project been given to some big companies like Larsen & Toubro or any other known construction firm, we would have already enjoyed its benefits many years ago. Besides this, the State would not have lost so much money to the drains. Evidently, the MeECL engineers are not prepared for this grand project. Lately I was told by a reliable source that in the trial spin, the turbines were spinning in the opposite direction. This is a case of engineering failure which has cost the state exchequer dearly. Last year, we also read in the papers that the floods had caused great damage to the dam. This is another case of professional inefficiency. Good engineers would have foreseen all those problems and would have ensured the safety of the dam. In western countries engineers foresee all possible natural calamities like earthquake, floods, storms etc, before they undertake any construction.
Thirdly, Leshka is a symbol of mismanagement on the part of the State’s Corporation. A good management is characterized by maximum utilization of time, resources and expertise. When there is good management, lots of things can be accomplished with limited time and resources. In the case of Leshka we see a scandalizing wastage of time and public money but with a disproportionate output. This is a gross mismanagement case which should be dealt with by the responsible people.
The people of Meghalaya have placed so much hope in this particular project hoping that with the commissioning of Leshka hydro power project, we would be spared the frequent scheduled and unscheduled load shedding. With the reported leakage in the pipeline leading to the turbines in Kyrdemkulai, we forestall greater inconveniences ahead. Does MeECL have enough funds to deal with this leakage when so much of its resources have been wasted in Leshka. As of now, Leshka is still a dream project or rather I would call it an incubus in the consciousness of every Meghalayan. A friend of mine once remarked, “What a pity, Meghalaya with its abundant network of rapid streams and rivers could have become a hydro-power generating state in the country. It could have boosted its economy through energy marketing”. I perfectly agree with the gentleman, because what he says makes sense. Perhaps next to Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya is the state most blessed with great potentiality for hydro-electric power. But the state of affairs that Leshka presents before us is a clear proof that we are unable and incapable of tapping this God-given source of energy.
I am sure every reader will share my opinion if I say that Meghalaya has earned a notorious name of being a state of “incomplete projects”. We can cite examples like the Shillong by-pass, the Crowborough Hotel, the Legislative Assembly House, Leshka, just to name a few major projects. Besides these there are hundreds of smaller unfinished projects like roads and bridges etc. To be a little sarcastic, may be we will still see a few more news report on Leshka in the coming days. Having said that, I am personally not pessimistic and I hope that our generation can still enjoy the benefits of Leshka.
(The writer is a Salesian priest and social thinker)