By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: MeECL senior official and Chief Project Manager of Myntdu Leshka Project, Elias Lyngdoh on Saturday said majority of the people are not against the proposed 240 MW Umngot Hydro Electric Project even as negotiations are on with the villagers who are apprehensive about the same.
Talking to The Shillong Times, Lyngdoh said, “Only one anti-dam activist is against the project and we can assure that not a single house would be submerged as a result of the project.”
The proposed 240 MW Umngot Hydro Electric Project has hit a major stumbling block after land owners opposed the project fearing that it will submerge their villages.
The residents of the concerned areas had also pointed out that assured compensation of Rs 4.9 lakh per hectare to those farmers whose land would be affected by the power project is grossly inadequate.
Allaying their fears, Lyngdoh said, “After rainy season we will conduct a spot verification and also demarcate the whole reservoir area. The villages will not submerge as they are on the top of hills.”
The proposed project, if completed, would ease the power shortage scenario in the state.
“If everything goes well, the tenders for the project can be floated by January-February next year,” Lyngdoh informed.
Earlier in July, residents of several villages (Umsaw, Pashang, Mawsir, Kransngi, Mawdulop and Mynsang) whose areas lay in the upper stream of the project had protested that their agricultural land would be submerged and they would become landless once the project takes off.
Incidentally, while the project is being opposed by villagers in East Khasi Hills, people in Jainta Hills district have welcomed it.
The Umngot Hydro Electric Project will cover an area of 390 hectares straddling both Jaintia Hills and East Khasi Hills districts and will be implemented by the MeECL over a period of five years.
