By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Dec 17: The Voice of the People Party (VPP) declared on Sunday that the government should concentrate on the power deficit, frequent load shedding, financial mismanagement, and revenue leakage in addition to corruption in the Power Department, rather than celebrating the National Energy Conservation Awards 2023 award for energy efficiency with negligible utility on the ground.
“We applaud the state government for winning the esteemed National Energy Conservation Awards 2023, which are given out by the Ministry of Power’s Bureau of Energy Efficiency. Given that energy conserved is energy produced, this becomes significant in the energy-starved state. However, the government would force the populace to live in a fantasy land, leading them to celebrate this wonderful accomplishment while the state’s power structure is appalling,” VPP spokesperson Batskhem Myrboh told The Shillong Times.
“The state’s residents suffered greatly from the power outage that lasted for over 12 hours recently, which had an impact on their livelihood, health care, and educational opportunities,” he stated.
“Meghalaya had in the past won so many awards, but receiving this award would mean little to the state’s citizens until uninterrupted power is guaranteed. However, rather than improving people’s lives, especially those on the margins and in the grassroots, these awards have only served to confuse the public,” Myrboh said.
He said that although the party congratulates Power Minister AT Mondal, it would like to implore him to stay focused on pressing matters.
“The power minister should concentrate on getting all of the state’s villages and homes electrified,” he added.
The Opposition Congress had recently questioned the energy conservation award given to Meghalaya
“I do not understand the accolade for the state. How can we say Meghalaya is efficient in terms of power? Sometimes these awards do not speak the truth. In fact, we are power deficient,” Congress working president PN Syiem had said.
He went on to say that people of the state know the best as to what award Meghalaya deserves in terms of energy conservation.
Meanwhile, the news of the award has evoked a lot of reaction from citizens with many taking to the social media to express their disbelief and terming it a “joke”.
It may be noted that President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday felicitated Power Minister Abu Taher Mondal on the occasion of National Energy Conservation Day and presented the National Energy Conservation Award for conservation of power and efficiency.
Receiving the award, Mondal said it reflects the government’s commitment to sustainable practices and energy conservation. This will further motivate the state to persist in the endeavours towards a greener and more energy-efficient future, he said.