State Govt inaction on land acquisition hurdles delays implementation of project by eight years
By Ronald Stone Syiem
NONGSTOIN: It has been over five years that the survey and investigation for preparation of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the ambitious Kynshi Hydro Electric Power Project in the West Khasi Hills region started following the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) in 2007 but the project is far from being implemented.
The jinxed project has seen innumerable delays ever since the time the State Government faced stiff opposition in implementing the project since it had been allotted to a private firm. Subsequently, the then State Government, led by regional force under the umbrella of MPA, scrapped the MOA but again faced opposition and criticism from pressure groups in West Khasi Hills who organized a series of agitations demanding that the project be retained. The MPA Government, however, paid no heed to the demands.
After the MUA-I Government led by the Congress came to power in Meghalaya it retained the project by signing an addendum in 2010 with some modifications to the MOA. New Delhi-based Athena Power Private Limited was allotted the task of developing and commissioning the project on a joint venture under the Build – Own – Operate – Transfer (BOOT) mode.
The project which had finally taken off was immediately beset with major problems in the form of land acquisition hurdles and the delay culture of the Meghalaya Government.
The Company sent an application to the Disaster and Revenue Department in May, 2013, requesting the State government to expedite the land acquisition process but to no avail as the State government failed to respond to the company’ plea on time.
Land owners affected by the project also expressed concern over the non-activity of the State Government with regards to clearing all obstacles for smooth progress of the project and had even met the Chief Minister seeking his intervention to speed up the process but to no avail.
Incidentally, H. Lyngdoh, president of the Land Owners’ Association, had earlier claimed that at the beginning the land owners were not ready to hand over land to the private company for the project but were convinced otherwise after observing the activities of the company which had completed the survey for the project in two years.
Lyngdoh also stated that the land owners were ready to hand over their land provided they were relocated to a proper area. He further stated that the land promised to the land owners as replacement by the government was barren and far away from habited areas.
It may be noted that the Meghalaya Government had allotted Stage-I of the Kynshi Hydro Electric Project to Athena Power Private Limited while the Stage-II was allotted to the Jay Pee Group. However, the latter abandoned the project following objections from the Department of Atomic Energy which feared that the Uranium- rich areas in the proximity of the dam would be adversely affected.
Last year, the company closed its site office in Nongstoin since the State Government was not showing any indication to work on removing the land acquisition hurdles.
The terms and conditions mentioned in the MOA stipulates that the Company should complete the Project within 10 years from the date of signing the MOA, but eight years have passed and no sign of progress is visible as far as the project is concerned.