GUWAHATI: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Saturday directed the NEEPCO authorities to avoid further delay in completion of the 110 MW Pare Hydro Project in the frontier state and abide by the schedule to go for trial spinning of the turbines by end of this month and commissioning of the same subsequently.
Khandu, who along with Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein, Speaker T N Thongdok, Deputy Speaker Tumke Bagra, Power Minister Tamiyo Taga and a host of ministers and legislators, visited the project site at Jampa and Sopo to take stock of the progress of the much-awaited hydro project of the state. Host legislator and Urban Development Minister Nabam Rebia took the visiting dignitaries around along with officials of the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO).
According to NEEPCO officials the project, started in 2010, was originally scheduled to be completed by August 2012 but the schedule was revised to December 2017. However, due to construction of the Trans-Arunachal Highway, heavy machinery required couldn’t reach the project site, which caused further delay in its completion.
The Chief Minister was, however, assured that the project would be ready for commissioning by 31st of this month despite the fact that it would take few more months for it to generate power to its fullest capacity.
Khandu and team first visited the dam-site at Jampa, where the work was going on in full swing. The concrete gravity dam on River Dikrong would stand 63 meters high and 134.257 meter long. The run-of-the-river project would have its power house at Sopo, 3 kms downstream of Jampa. The tunnel bringing water from the dam storage is of 1.029 kms.
Later the team visited the turbine area of the power house at Sopo. Khandu expressed satisfaction over the progress despite several hurdles like monsoon-triggered landslides and floods. He assured cooperation to NEEPCO with regards to local logistics and administrative issues for commissioning of the project on time.
“This is a big and important project of the state. Not only the local people but all citizens of the state will benefit from it. It is a matter of immense satisfaction that at least one of the several hydro projects in the state is going to be commissioned within a month,” he said while interacting with local villagers near the project site.
Khandu asserted that 2% free power – 1 from the state share and 1 from the project developer – would be utilised for local area development, which would be huge. He congratulated the local people for sacrificing their land for the project and said its time for them to reap the benefits of their sacrifices.
Meanwhile, Khandu also laid the foundation of a bridge over Dikrong that would connect Sopo with Lekhi village on the right-bank. At present there exists a hanging-bridge constructed locally by the villagers.
He assured the required fund for construction of the bridge, which would be also shared by NEEPCO as its corporate social responsibility.
To a request for connecting CC road from the bridge, the Chief Minister assured to keep provisions in the ensuing budget.