SHILLONG, March 16: The independent inquiry committee, headed by retired Justice RN Mishra to probe the functioning of the Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL), is preparing the report for submission before March 31.
The inquiry pertains to procurement, aggregate transmission and commercial or AT&C losses, the implementation of the Saubhagya scheme and human resources management.
Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong, also in charge of Power, said this while replying to a question raised by the Opposition leader, Mukul M Sangma during Question Hour in the Assembly.
Apart from the chairman, the committee has former IAS officer Manoj Kumar as the administrative member and retired executive director of the Rural Electrification Corporation, Sunil Kumar as the technical member.
On the status of the report, Tynsong said the committee has made 18 sittings to date. He also said the committee members issued a public notice inviting the interested persons to depose before it, met officials of the MeECL and sought all the required documents from the corporation.
“The committee is now preparing the report for submission before the March 31 deadline,” he said.
In reply to a supplementary question raised by Sangma on the terms and reference of the inquiry and whether covers the alleged irregularities in respect of the Saubhagya scheme, Tynsong said the inquiry is all-inclusive.
Ganol project cost escalation draws Opposition ire
The All India Trinamool Congress demanded a specific inquiry into the huge cost escalation of the Ganol Hydro Power Project from Rs 356 crore to Rs 507 crore.
Participating in a discussion during the voting on demands for grants, Mukul Sangma said the project clearly points to money laundering and needs to be investigated.
He said that with this huge escalation, the price per megawatt of energy from the project will be Rs 22.5 crore and the burden will be ultimately passed onto the consumers.
“Let there be a specific inquiry to punish anybody if there are instances of irregularities,” he said.
Earlier, AITC legislator Zenith Sangma slammed the government for waiving off 30% of the dues for the industries under the one-time settlement which comes to around Rs 200 crore even and sought to know the reason behind this “favouritism”.
He also said the government went to the extent of coming up with a special tariff for the Byrnihat Industries Association at Rs 4.90 paise per unit whereas consumers who use more than 200 units were given electricity at Rs 6 per unit.
Slamming the government for not restoring Stage IV of the Umiam Hydroelectric Project since 2019 leading to a huge loss of revenue worth more than Rs 4 crore every month, he also questioned the government over the sudden escalation of the cost in the Ganol project. He added that there are several instances of irregularities in the Saubhagya scheme under the Power department.
Umroi MLA George B Lyngdoh, his Mawlai and Mookaiaw counterparts PT Sawkmie and Nujorki Sungoh also participated in the discussion.
In reply, Tynsong said a series of allegations over the implementation of the Saubhagya scheme made the government decide to constitute the independent inquiry committee.
“Let us wait till the report is out and my assurance is that we are here with full sincerity and honesty to work for the people,” he said while clarifying that the one-time settlement was extended to consumers apart from industries.
The minister also said the special tariff for the industries was discontinued in January this year. He added that the restoration of Umiam Stage IV will be completed by June or July this year.
The minister also maintained that the restoration work was delayed due to the pandemic.
Referring to the allegations of huge escalation of cost in the Ganol project, Tynsong said the cost was revised following a detailed technical examination and the revision is being guided by the engineering book.
He added that the Ganol project is under the purview of the independent inquiry, and its status would be reflected in the panel’s report.