From Our Correspondent
NONGSTOIN, July 10: For over a decade, the implementation of Kynshi Hydel Power Project has hung fire, and the landowners affected by the project have now come out demanding a clarification from the state government.
President of the landowners’ association, Roshem Marthong, has asked the government to revive the project, which is one of the crucial interventions in the state which is expected to pave way for benefits and opportunities for the locals.
Marthong recalled that in 2007, the survey and investigation for preparation of a detailed project report (DPR) had begun after the then government signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) handing over the project to a private firm — Athena Power Pvt Ltd.
The firm was selected by the then-Congress government for developing and commissioning the project on a joint venture on Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) mode. However, 11 years down the line and the project is yet to materialise.
In fact, the company had sent an application to the Disaster and Revenue department in 2015 to complete the process of land acquisition, but the matter remained pending, he said.
According to Marthong, the delay on the part of the government forced the company to discontinue the services of some local employees and landowners, while it has even shut down the site office in Nongstoin, West Khasi Hills.
Maintaining that the landowners have been ready to hand over their land, Marthong lamented that there is however no sign that the government would re-start the project.
With pleas falling on deaf ears, the landowners have now appealed to the pressure groups to push the state government to resume the project and seek a clarification from the Power department on the shutdown of Kynshi hydroelectricity project.
“…with the power crisis in the state, the government of the day should focus on restarting the long pending project in order to solve the power crisis and also to create employment to the unemployed youths of the area and the state as a whole,” Marthong added.
