SHILLONG, July 3: Power Minister AT Mondal on Thursday acknowledged the erratic power supply in rural villages. While attributing the issue to various distribution problems, he assured that efforts are under way to address the gaps.
“It is true that in many areas there are frequent power cuts,” Mondal said in response to the Opposition VPP’s criticism of the government’s claim of being power surplus, even as many villages continue to suffer from frequent outages and lack of electricity.
Clarifying the situation, he said there is little difference between power cuts and load-shedding. “Load-shedding means we don’t have enough energy to supply. But power cuts can also occur due to load-shedding, technical snags, snapping of conductors, falling of trees, transformer burnouts, substation faults, or even pin ruptures. All these factors affect power distribution,” he explained.
The minister maintained that, as of now, the state is power surplus. “Today, we are in a power surplus condition. But I don’t know what will happen tomorrow. Suppose one unit of Leshka goes out, we will lose 42 megawatts, which will affect us badly,” he said.
Mondal stressed the need to strengthen the rural distribution network. “Yes, we need to improve distribution in rural areas. We are taking up several programmes, and even the Chief Minister has agreed to allocate funds for the construction of substations. Once these are in place, the problem will be resolved,” he said.
Referring to Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma’s recent visit to a village, Mondal pointed out that the village lacked a transformer.
He also cited miscommunication and unpaid bills as contributing factors to power disruptions. “Sometimes, there are pending dues or other communication gaps. MeECL has to survive on its own. I would request our esteemed consumers to pay their bills regularly so that we can serve them better in return,” he appealed.
“There are always some issues, but we will try to rectify them as much as possible,” he added.
MGNREGA allegations
Amidst rising concerns over the execution of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA), Mondal, who is also the C&RD Minister, has acknowledged allegations surfacing from certain parts of the state.
He noted that MGNREGA, being an extensive rural initiative covering nearly every village in Meghalaya, is naturally susceptible to occasional lapses. While conceding that complaints have surfaced in some pockets, he clarified that this does not imply a complete failure in implementation.
The minister stressed that the scheme is largely being carried out in accordance with the stipulated norms, and that the government has been monitoring its progress through various means, including video documentation.
He further assured that every complaint is taken seriously and investigated promptly to ensure accountability and corrective measures wherever necessary.
