SHILLONG, June 26 � The North Eastern Council (NEC) today expressed concern over the delay in commissioning of the Lower Subansiri power plant due to various social agitations.
In a review meeting of the power projects in the North East, the NEC said that the delay in commissioning of the Lower Subansiri power plant due to agitation by various groups could have great implication in the power sector of the region.
The Subansiri is the largest hydel project of the country and would have a capacity of producing 2000 MW once commissioned. The project is being executed by NHPC.
Concerns were also raised by different stakeholders regarding Indian Electricity Act wherein the purchase of land for the right of way for any transmission is not allowed and this is causing delays in the construction of transmission lines apart from the issue of forest clearance.
Ameising Luikham, Secretary, NEC also reviewed the on-going power projects in the Northeastern States. NEC has been funding hydro power projects in the past but at present it is is funding only system improvement schemes that include construction of transmission lines, augmentation and improvement of existing transmission and distribution system and other power projects.
There are 61 NEC funded projects which were discussed in the meeting. Secretary NEC asked the State Governments to complete the projects within the time frame.
NEC is funding eight projects each in Arunachal and Manipur, two in Assam, 14 in Meghalaya, 10 in Mizoram, Nagaland (7), Sikkim (8) and Tripura (4). The estimated cost of the projects is Rs 499.04 crore. NEC has so far released an amount of Rs 312.48 crore for the States.
