Arunachal Deputy CM Chowna Mein meets Union Power Minister

 NEW DELHI/ITANAGAR: Arunachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein met with Union Power Minister R.K. Singh on Friday and held discussions on the 14 proposed hydropower projects to be commissioned in the state. The hydropower projects are to be undertaken by several central public sector undertakings (CPSUs), including the National Hydro Power Corporation, the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation, Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited, and THDC India Limited. Even as the hydropower projects were conceptualized many years ago, they did not register visible progress due to many reasons.

Of these projects, five had their allotments to private developers cancelled due to a lack of progress, while nine power plants registered very little progress. An official in Itanagar said the Deputy Chief Minister put forth the state government's expectations and commitment pertaining to these projects and highlighted the need to expedite their commissioning.

After a long process of transferring these power projects from private developers to the CPSUs, a final stage has almost been reached recently, as the state government on Wednesday approved the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to be signed with the CPSUs. The signing of the respective MoAs is scheduled to take place next month, and the Union Power Minister is likely to attend the event.

The official said that an action plan has been prepared to commence work on the power projects with around 12,500 MW generation capacities, leading to an investment of Rs 1.5 lakh crore and providing revenue of Rs 2,000 crore to the state and around Rs 350 crore per year for local area development. According to an official, the Union Power Minister appreciated the progress made by the state government so far in this direction and expressed his desire to personally visit Arunachal Pradesh to witness the signing of MoAs.

The Union Minister further emphasized that the commencement of these projects would lead to the overall development of the state in the form of infrastructure, social, and economic uplift, and would open up many opportunities for the local people.

During the meeting, Singh also added that the development of hydropower in the state would result in a substantial rise in the income generation of the people, eventually leading to Arunachal Pradesh recording one of the highest per capita incomes in the country. (IANS)

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