Manipur CM pushes power project ahead

IMPHAL, March 31: The Chief Minister, Radhabinod Koijam expressed his desire for the work on the Rs 578.62 crore, Loktak Downstream Hydro Project to begin as soon as possible, during a meeting with the chairman-cum-managing director of the National Hydro Electric Power Corporation, NHPC, Yogendra Prasad at the Manipur Bhawan this morning. The project is designed to produce 90 MW of power and would be a boon for the state now reeling under an acute power shortage, the Chief Minister told Prashad. Koijam also told Prasad that he has requested the Union home minister, LK Advani, in a meeting yesterday to meet the estimated Rs 2 crore cost of construction of barracks for Central and state forces at the work site, in view of the financial crunch the state is in currently. He also said he is hopeful that the home minister will do the needful. The Chief Minister also told the NHPC chief that the state government is doing everything within its power to settle the issue over the compensation for the 150 acres of land to be acquired. The earlier estimated expense for the purpose was Rs 5 crore, but a study is being done to reassess it, he added. On his part, Prasad assured the Chief Minister that work on the project will start as soon as the security arrangements are complete. He also offered to help maintain the health of the Loktak, the only source of water for the project and also dubbed as the largest fresh water lake in the whole of India. Swallowing of the lakebed has resulted not only in threatening the availability of water but also destroying thousands of acres of fertile cultivable land around the lake, he observed. He said since the state will be in no position to pay for the new Loktak maintenance drive, the NHPC may impose a surcharge of 15 paise per unit of electricity to raise an annual amount of Rs 7 crore. He said this will not be a burden on the state's consumers as the state's share of power generated by the Loktak Project is only 12 percent. He however said for this to be come possible, the approval of the Northeastern Regional Electricity Board, NEREB, is essential.