Shillong, Dec 12: The North Eastern Electric Power Corporation’s (NEEPCO) ambitious proposal to develop the 800 MW Wah Umiam hydroelectric project in Meghalaya (earlier named as Mawphu) has been lying in cold storage owing to acute land constraints.
Speaking to reporters, NEEPCO Executive Director Jayanta Sharma said the corporation aggressively pursued Wah Umiam Stage-III and even got the Detailed Project Report approved.
“However, we could not acquire land. In Meghalaya, the government does not own land; only 5-6% of the land is under the Forest Department, and local communities are unwilling to part with their land,” he said.
The project has also failed to secure forest clearance, he revealed.
On Meghalaya’s plans for pumped storage projects (PSP), Sharma said NEEPCO is ready not just to assist but to develop such projects in the state.
“However, land remains the biggest challenge,” he stressed. Despite a sharp rise in power demand over the past decade, no major hydropower project has been taken up in Meghalaya in recent years.
The last big projects were the Myntdu-Leshka (126 MW) and New Umtru (40 MW), commissioned 10–12 years ago. The 22.5 MW Ganol project in Garo Hills became operational only recently.
