GUWAHATI, July 5 � Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today claimed that the State government has not exerted any pressure on the present government at the Centre to go ahead with the stalled Lower Subansiri hydro-electric project.
Refuting the statements made by certain quarters, the Chief Minister said in a statement that the State government has not put pressure on the Central government to restart work on the power project.
�Our stand has all along been clear that we are in favour of the project if it benefits the State, but not at the cost of suffering of the people. We want that the project should take into consideration all dam safety aspects and suitably address the downstream impact and the issues related with ecology. Flood moderation should also be a critical component of the project,� he said.
In this context, the Chief Minister pointed out that it was the State government on its own that had taken the initiative to constitute an expert committee and a Group of Ministers involving all the stakeholders and interested parties to thoroughly study all issues connected with the power project and initiate suitable follow-up actions accordingly. �Our government forwarded the report of the expert committee to the Ministry of Power and wanted it to take further steps. Thereafter the Central government also constituted various expert committees,� he added.
The Chief Minister said that it was up to the present government at the Centre whether it wants to go ahead with the project or not. �The Centre has to take the final call whether it wants to go ahead with the power project. The ball is in their court. The question of putting pressure on the Centre to start resumption of work of the power project does not arise,� he said.
Gogoi said that the State would, however, provide necessary security, if required, to the engineers and workers involved in the construction of the power project.
