SHILLONG, APR 30: North Eastern Electricity Power Corporation (NEEPCO) has thrown the ball in the court of the union ministry of power on whether to lift the regulation of power imposed on Meghalaya as its chairman and managing director PC Pankaj wants the Meghalaya Electricity Corporation Limited (MeECL) and the Meghalaya government to pay adequate amount of the pending Rs 379 crore dues and not only Rs 30 crore.
Pankaj purportedly told chief minister Mukul Sangma to make a “handsome payment” of the pending Rs 379 crore that MeECL has to pay to the central power sector if power is to be restored to the power crisis ridden state.
Pankaj told this website on Wednesday, “I told the chief minister to make a handsome payment when he had called me asking to lift the regulation of power imposed on Meghalaya promising that the state will make some payment.” He said though the chief minister did not mentioned the amount the state is likely to pay, but later the power department offered only 10 percent of the pending dues that NEEPCO was supposed to get from the Meghalaya government.
Pankaj said that he has empathy with the people of Meghalaya who are suffering because of the frequent power shutdown as NEEPCO had stopped supplying power for the last one year. He said, “I had suggested to the Meghalaya power department to write to the union power ministry and fix a meeting to resolve the issue of payment to NEEPCO.”
Pankaj informed that the union power ministry has fixed a meeting on May 2 between the Meghalaya government, NEEPCO where officials from the power ministry will also be present in Delhi and according a decision will be taken. He said, “Whatever the decision is taken at the meeting NEEPCO will implement.”
Pankaj said that the state government must come up with a payment plan on how it is going to clear the pending dues of Rs 379 crore. He informed that the power department of Meghalaya is most likely to come up with the payment plan and present it during the meeting on May 2. – By Our Reporter
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