After keeping in abeyance for two years, the Meghalaya government has finally decided to hand over two 450 Mw each hydel power projects to private companies for execution. The two projects are – Kynshi stage I and Kynshi Stage II. Whereas the Hyderabad-based Athena Power will develop the former, the later will be developed by Jaypee Group. A total of Rs 7,000 crore investment is expected from the two companies for developing both the projects.
The MoUs (memorandum of understanding) with the two companies will be signed soon, and the project works would commence within next six months, government sources informed. The projects will be developed under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) mode, where the private companies will own the projects for a period of 40 years each.
Both the projects are on river Kynshi in West Khasi Hills district. In 2007, the Meghalaya government had come up with a new power policy to facilitate private investment in the state. Later, it floated expression of interests (EoI) for five big power projects; and as many as 30 small and big companies, such as Jaypee Group, Jindal Group, Essar, Athena, had evinced interests to take up the projects.
But due to vehement opposition from few civil organisations, who smelt foul play in the bidding process, the projects were kept in suspension.
Government sources said that so as to “avoid legal complications”, the state government had no other option but to go ahead with the projects. Earlier, a committee headed by former Meghalaya chief secretary Ranjan Chatterjee, which was formed to look into the consequences of scrapping the projects, had directed the government to go ahead with the projects to avoid legal complications, sources added.
Meghalaya, which was once a power surplus state, is now plagued by severe power crisis. The peak hour demand for power in the state is around 650 Mw while the state generates around 185 Mw. Meghalaya will get 12 per cent of total power generated free of cost from the two projects.
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Sources also added that given the vast coal reserves the state has, the Meghalaya government was exploring the possibilities in setting up coal-based thermal power projects.
Meghalaya’s hydro power generating potential is estimated to be around 4,000 Mw.