Trying to clear power dues: James

SHILLONG: As residents of Meghalaya are forced to bear the brunt of load shedding due to inability of the State Government to clear up the dues of more than Rs 500 crores towards NEEPCO, the government has asserted that it is trying to clear the dues despite having financial crisis.
The amount include principal and interest. It may be mentioned that NEEPCO on an average supplies  145-155 mw of power to Meghalaya
Following the regulation, the Meghalaya Government had resorted to load shedding.
However, Power Minister, James Sangma on Wednesday said that the Government is trying to find out ways and means to clear the dues while informing that the State Government has already requested NEEPCO to be considerate enough keeping in view that examinations are just around the corner.
“ We are trying our best though the situation is that the funds are not available and financial crisis is going on,” the Power Minister said even as he maintained that the huge sum have accumulated over the years.
Admitting that it is a big challenge for the Government to clear the dues, he added that it is now keen to implement those power projects which are dormant in the state for a long time due to one or other issues.
Sangma informed that the issues pertaining to 85 Mw Mawphu power project has been resolved and the Government is awaiting the clearance of the Techno-economic Clearance (TEC) after which the project will be taken up.
“ It is our priority to see that the power projects are revived one by one, we will improve the power scenario in the state,” he said.