SHILLONG, July 9: Meghalaya Power Minister, Abu Taher Mondal, has urged the Centre to render financial assistance for the development of pumped storage projects (PSPs) in Meghalaya.
The power minister made the request during the Northeastern Region (NER) Power Ministers’ Conference, which was held in Guwahati on Tuesday.
According to a statement here, the conference was held to confer about critical issues relating to power generation, transmission and distribution in the Northeast, including Meghalaya, and was chaired by Union Power Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.
Mondal, during the conference, raised several state-specific concerns, including the development of PSPs in Meghalaya, and requested financial assistance from the central government for the same.
He also raised the matters pertaining to central financial assistance for small hydropower projects in the state, which have been stopped as of now by the Ministry.
The minister also requested that the Detailed Project Report (DPR) submitted by Meghalaya Power Distribution Corporation Limited (MePDCL) for the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) Phase II be approved at the earliest.
He also shared the matters relating to the gap in funding from the central government between the sanctioned cost and the discovered cost for RDSS Phase I.
It may be mentioned that during the conference, detailed deliberations were held in respect of the overall scenario of the power sector in the NER with a special focus on various aspects of hydropower generation, power transmission and distribution in the Northeastern states.
The progress of the states in various central schemes was also reviewed in the meeting.
Further, deliberations were also held in respect of the power sector reforms, the measures to be taken for promoting Ease of Living for the electricity consumers and the resource adequacy plan to be finalised in order to meet the future demands.
“Under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), Distribution Infrastructure and Smart Metering works, with a total outlay of Rs 13,147 crore, have been sanctioned for these states. The progress of these works needs to be expedited. The financial viability of the DISCOMs also plays a crucial role in the overall transformation of the sector,” the statement said.
Others who were part of the conference were power ministers of Northeastern states, along with senior officials from the states and Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs).
