Meghalaya will have no load shedding this year, says Power Minister James K Sangma

STAFF CORRESPONDENT

SHILLONG: Meghalaya will have no load shedding this year. This was assured by Minister of Power James K Sangma in his reply to a question in the Assembly here on Thursday. He also stated that Chief Minister sought the intervention of Union Power Minister to ensure that there is no blockade of Power supply by the generating and transmitting agencies in the coming months.

This discussion in the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly turned out to be a long one with a gibe thrown by the Leader of Opposition, Mukul Sangma at the State Minister in-charge of Power, James K Sangma here on Thursday. The discussion was on the prevailing Power crisis in Meghalaya.

Initiating the discussion on the plight of 'Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited' (MECL), senior Congress leader M. Ampareen Lyngdoh pointed to the many lacunae, stating that these must be addressed by collective efforts of both the Treasury and the Opposition Bench. Lyngdoh spoke about a wide-ranging of issues including Power theft, revenue leakages, and late payments of bills among others.

The discussion was further taken ahead by the Leader of the Opposition who criticized the ruling dispensation. He stated, "The Chief Minister has misled the House which is a breach of privilege.''

He alleged, "The Chief Minister has converted his narrative to deal with the mess through a modus operandi scripted by the writers". Alleging massive corruption, the Leader of Opposition demanded that there should be an exhaustive discussion on the issue of corruption in the State Power sector.

In his reply, State Power Minister James Sangma said that the Opposition had placed their arguments based on speculation and are inaccurate in nature. "These are mere allegations and tirades with no substance," stated the Power Minister.

Taking a cue from what the Chief Minister said a couple of days back, the Power Minister alleged that misgovernance in the Power sector began during the time when the present Opposition was holding the reins in the State, adding that the present crisis is due to the misgovernance of the previous government in the State. "Notwithstanding that burden, we have initiated steps to resolve the issues. We have ensured that there will be no load shedding this year," stressed the Power Minister.

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