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Major power projects in Nagaland soon

By Correspondent

DIMAPUR, March 6 � A number of major power projects to meet the requirements of Nagaland are in the offing, Power Minister Doheshe Y Sema disclosed during a programme held to launch the electrification of five villages at Aghunaqa area under Niuland sub-division of Dimapur district.

This is so far the highest ever number of villages to come under electrification in one go.

Talking to media persons on the sidelines of the programme yesterday, Doshehe informed that the Power department is all set to commence work on a 165 MW Hydro Electric project at Dikhu river under Mon district. The mega project is a joint venture with a private company and a meeting has been convened on March 15 to deliberate on the final modalities, he said.

And while the authorities concerned have already given the go ahead for the project, according to Doheshe, he, however, maintained that landowners will also need to come forward with an open mind.

Another project, the Tizu-Zingki hydel project with a 150 MW capacity, has also been forwarded to the Government of India for approval, it was informed. Besides, the State Government is initiating the development of Small Hydro Electric Project (SHEP), which is a small coal-based thermal power plant.

With availability of power one of the major issues in the State, the Power Minister espoused confidence that with the materialisation of these projects, Nagaland will become self reliant in electrical energy.

The Power Minister, however, painted a dismal picture of the revenue scenario in his department.

Disclosing that the State has purchased power worth Rs 150 crore for 2010-2011 from outside the State but in return has received only around Rs 45 crore so far till February 2011, he said Naga consumers need to be more conscientious about paying their bills on time and also to be judicious in using power. Another additional Rs 11.63 crore is spent on power purchase from Likhimro Hydel Project.

The electrification of the five villages in Niuland sub-division today was done under the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana scheme which envisages the development of village electrification infrastructure and power for all by 2012.

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