Meghalaya Power Minister welcomes independent enquiry into allegations of corruption against MeECL

SHILLONG:

Meghalaya Power Minister James Sangma, on Monday, welcomed the independent enquiry into the fresh charges of allegations of corruption against the Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL) and said that it will be a great opportunity to clean up the system.

Sangma deliberated on the enquiry and said, “Whatever the reports come out to be, the government will take action on the findings of the report and it is time to clean up the system, this is a great opportunity to make sure that we get to know what ails the MeECL.”

Thanking Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma for instituting the independent enquiry on the functioning of the MeECL and Power Department, James said that the inquiry will allow the department to get details into the working of the MeECL which has been plagued with allegations of irregularities over the years.

He said, “By virtue of the enquiry being independent, it will get to the root of the situation where we are right now, where many people are alleging a lot of things. I welcome this independent enquiry.”

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The terms of reference of the enquiry will include the tendering processes of centrally sponsored and state schemes, like the Saubhgya scheme, smart meters, DDU-JJY scheme, Restructured Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme (RAPDRP), Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS). 

The allegations of Byrnihat power theft will be included in the terms of reference as well.

“We will go into the details of the schemes as many of the schemes were started a long time back but they have not yet been closed and not seen completion. This is a serious matter and we need to understand why this has happened and whether proper procedure was followed or not,” James added.

A three-member committee will do the enquiry headed by retired Justice of High Court, the other members will include a retired administrative officer and a person from the technical background.

NTPC Issue

Speaking about the NTPC issue, James said that the agreement was one-sided and hence it was decided to terminate the PPA. 

Talking about future projects to address the state’s power needs, James informed that the way forward is to increase generation although there are concerns with certain projects citing that such projects will be harmful to the environment, for livelihood.

“We are considerate of the fact that people’s livelihoods or the environment are important aspects for any developmental projects. Those will be addressed before we take any steps,” James concluded.

(Edited by Shankar Turha)

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