Power crisis: Scene shifts to Delhi
SHILLONG: Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma on Wednesday said that the State Government had decided to pay to NEEPCO Rs 30 crore out of its total outstanding due of Rs 379 crore to the power utility but, according to reports, NEEPCO has asked for more.
Power Minister Clement Marak, meanwhile, said officials from NEEPCO, the State Power Department and Union power secretary would have a meeting in Delhi on May 2 to discuss the present understanding between NEEPCO and the Meghalaya Government on supply of power to the State.
The Chief Minister said he had directed the Power Department “to prepare a complete repayment plan to allow the MeECL to clear the pending dues of the various electricity generation public sector undertakings like NEEPCO, NHPC and NTPC.
According to the Chief Minister, the repayment plan would give an indication to the MeECL on the pattern of repayment of the pending dues. In reply to a question, he said the Government had decided to pay an initial amount of Rs 30 crore to NEEPCO but indicated that the amount to be paid could increase since the MeECL had been asked to mobilize some more resources.
NEEPCO Chairman-cum-Managing Director PC Pankaj held discussions with the Chief Minister during the day. He reportedly asked Sangma to make a “handsome payment” out of the pending Rs 379 crore that MeECL had to pay to the Central sector power utility if power was to be restored to the crisis-ridden state.
Pankaj said that he had empathy for the people of Meghalaya who were suffering because of the frequent power shutdowns because of restrictions imposed by NEEPCO. He had suggested that the Meghalaya Power Department approach to the Union Power Ministry to resolve the payment problem to NEEPCO.
“The reason for the accumulation of dues with various Central power generation agencies is because the MeECL had not thought of having a repayment plan in the past,” the Chief Minister said. “I hope that the clearing of dues would be done on a regular basis once the corporation has the repayment plan.”
He said he had issued a directive to the officers to provide all possible help to the MeECL to repay the amount. He said he had also directed the Power Department to come up with a financial management plan which would ensure that the MeECL improve its efficiency on the utilization of funds provided by the State Government.
“It is really sad that the MeECL has not prioritized on its thrust areas. After I have seen the complete financial analysis of the MeECL, I was surprised to see that the corporation had used the funds earmarked by the Government for purchase of power in clearing the pending bills of the contractors,” Sangma said. According to the Chief Minister, the payment of the contractors’ bills could have been delayed.
“It is because of this reason that I am of the view that the MeECL needs to prioritize on its thrust areas,” Sangma said. He felt that as a corporate body, the MeECL also needed to have a business plan by cutting down the losses while at the same time trying to generate own revenue.
“MeECL should be able to sell power at a higher rate than the rate at which they have to purchase. I know that at present they are running at a loss since they are selling power at a cheaper rate than at which they have actually to purchase,” he said.