Shillong, Aug 30: Amid the uproar over the projected Umngot Hydro Electric Project, Meghalaya power minister James Sangma on Monday informed that this project is not on their priority list right now.
The power minister informed that the government is currently exploring many other renewable projects in terms of solar because they have hydro generation taking place.
“We would like to supplement that with solar and it is a very symbiotic relationship that will be there with solar and with the hydro and wind that we are looking at. All these things we want to combine and bring about a very robust and renewable energy foundation for our energy sector in Meghalaya. Our priority is solar and maybe to a certain extent wind and bio mass energy,” said Sangma.
He further informed that the MoU that was signed has already been scraped and that is the current status of the proposed 210 MW Umngot Hydro Electric Project.
Unfounded apprehensions
At the same time, Sangma claimed that on the ground, in terms of movement, there is nothing against the government.
“Right now when there is no movement I don’t know why this apprehension is there? We are facing a lot of shortage in terms of generation and we need to ramp up our generation capacity in the state so maybe from that holistic or larger point of view of wanting to bring about more generation for our state maybe people have misread it as Umngot. But this is not the only project which is there available to us,” informed the Minister.
He reiterated that Umngot is not something which they have initiated or will suddenly give the go ahead to some companies to start the project and that there was nothing.
He assured that if the government goes ahead with the project, they we will be definitely taking the views and reaching out to stakeholders.
He added that there may be some fears which are genuine and need to be addressed and that the government will tackle it as and when time comes.
Opposition to Umgot project
Earlier the Joint Action Committee (JAC) against the Umngot Hydro Electric Project met with the deputy chief minister Prestone Tynsong and prior to that with the chief minister to urge them to scrap this project. On July 5, 2021, Jaintia Students’ Union (JSU) general secretary Treibor Raul Suchen had informed that they will not entertain any further talks on this project. A memorandum was also submitted in each of the visits.
According to Suchen, nearly 20-25 villages, both in East Khasi Hills and West Jaintia Hills districts, are likely to be affected due to the proposed project. Several other stakeholders like Alan West, an entrepreneur, has raised concerns over how the tourism sector will be badly affected if Umngot river is being touched.
West had also mentioned that this river has become Meghalaya’s iconic place and tourists would throng to this place not only during the high season but also the off seasons.
Umngot river, also popularly known as Wah Umngot, is one of Meghalaya’s popular tourist spots due to its crystal-clear waters. Many people in the area near the river are dependent on the tourism that the river Umngot generates.
