Minister in charge of Power, AT Mondal, on Tuesday said the implementation of the 85 MW Wah Umiam III hydroelectric project in Nongbah Phali, East Khasi Hills, has been delayed due to unresolved land issues. The project, to be executed by NEEPCO, falls between the Shella and Mawsynram constituencies.
“We have given one project already to NEEPCO, and they are working on it. Some land issues are there, till now we could not resolve. We hope that it will be resolved. This is the position with NEEPCO. This will be falling between Shella and Mawsynram constituency, this is an 85-megawatt hydel power project. I think it is called Wah Umiam, something like that,” Mondal stated.
Highlighting the state’s push for more hydropower projects to meet growing electricity demand, the minister emphasized Meghalaya’s new power policy, which encourages private investment. “We are planning to have many more projects as per power generation is concerned. That’s why we have notified our new power policy, where we are asking even private producers to come and invest in the state. Because the way the demand is going up, we got to see that energy is locally available at a cheaper tariff, so on that basis, we are open,” he said.
Mondal explained that the state stands to gain significantly from hydropower investments. “The basic idea is to have investment, it may be from 1 megawatt till whatever the capacity is there. The idea is that if it is a hydel power project, the state government will get 12 percent free power and one percent for local area development. So higher the generation, larger the share for the state. And at today’s rate, we have a growth of around 11 percent in electricity demand, so on that basis, we should be ready that in the future, we don’t face so much scarcity of power. We cannot compete with larger states or bigger states where they can purchase at a high rate, that’s why we are exploring all possibilities to see that some generation, either hydel, thermal, or any other, is taking place in the state.”
Regarding pending agreements with private players, Mondal admitted that several MoUs for small hydel projects have been on hold for the past decade. “Yeah, already some MoUs are pending with us, some are working on it, we are also working on it, let us see. Some MoUs are pending for small hydel power projects for the last 10 years with private parties. So now they are showing interest to come and invest.”
Meghalaya currently generates 367.50 MW of power from various hydel projects, including Umiam Stage I (36.00 MW), Umiam Stage II (20 MW), Umiam Stage III (60 MW), Umiam Stage IV (60 MW), Sonapani Mini Hydel (1.50 MW), Myntdu-Leshka HEP (126.00 MW), New Umtru HEP (40 MW), Lakroh MHEP (1.50 MW), and Ganol SHEP (22.50 MW).
Emphasizing the financial viability of private hydropower projects, Mondal said, “I am interested in hydel on, as per private parties because we’ll get 12 percent free power, so that is our entitlement. So, no question of tariff comes in between. You got my idea? Suppose they are having a project of 100 megawatts, so the state will get 12 megawatts free. So no question of tariff for nothing, that tariff will be decided by the regulatory commission,” he added.