-NET Web Desk
An MoA was signed today between the Govt Of Arunachal Pradesh and NEEPCO Ltd in presence of Chief Minister Pema Khandu and DCM Chowna Mein for the development of 90MW New Melling HEP in Tawang District and 120MW Nafra HEP in West Kameng District.
The MoA was signed between PS Lokhande, Commissioner (Hydro), and VK Singh, CMD NEEPCO.
Speaking on the occasion, the CM said the central public sector undertakings (CPSU) will be the harbinger of investment in Arunachal and appreciated the performance of NEEPCO in developing hydropower in the State.
Public Sector Undertakings to be harbinger of investment in Arunachal.
An MoA signed today between Govt of Arunachal & @NEEPCOlimited for execution of 120MW Nafra and 90MW New Melling hydroelectric project.
Hydro potential of State will not only remain in papers but executed. pic.twitter.com/3wZpSLW7n0
— Pema Khandu པདྨ་མཁའ་འགྲོ་། (@PemaKhanduBJP) August 14, 2021
CM asked CMD NEEPCO to resolve the issue of Kurung HEP (330MW) whose MoA was signed in the year 2015 but work has not started yet. He also assured to render all necessary help in terms of local problems in developing projects allotted to NEEPCO.
The CM said that the hydro potential in the State should not be on paper only but developed physically. Further, he also informed that the NHPC has scheduled to commission 2 units of Subansiri HEP (2000MW) by August 2022 and full-fledged commissioning by August 2023.
After the signing of MoA, the total project allotted to NEEPCO shall be 6 with a total installed capacity of 1325 MW. Out of six projects, the NEEPCO has commissioned three projects i.e. 600MW Kameng HEP, 405MW Ranganadi HEP, and 110 MW Pare HEP.
To harness the hydro potential in the State, the Govt. of Arunachal Pradesh had allotted hydro projects to several private developers and CPSUs through the MoA route. However, most of the private developers failed to implement the project. The State Govt. had then started terminating the MoA for a dismal performance in executing the projects. So far the State Govt has terminated 40 projects, informed Khandu.
The Deputy Chief Minister while appreciating the performance of NEEPCO requested the NEEPCO to commission the projects with them in a time-bound manner. He informed the Govt. has committed to developing self-sufficient hydropower from the hydro penitential in the State under the leadership of the present Chief Minister.
On the occasion of the signing of the MoA, Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar requested the CMD NEEPCO to liaise with the concerned DC and allot contract works to local contractors where expertise is not involved.
The CMD NEEPCO committed to deploy their staff at the site for taking the allotted project in full swing with immediate effect.
