Power Minister James Sangma has sought to reassure the public that the controversial Umngot Hydroelectric Power Project will not begin without taking the affected villagers on board.
“We are very considerate of the fact that their concerns will be heard by the government and we want to ensure that all stakeholders are taken on board and we want to address the concerns they have,” Sangma told reporters. “We are not in the practice of bulldozing things until and unless we have the confidence of the people, especially the stakeholders who are living in and around the region whose livelihoods depend on tourism or in any other forms. We will definitely get them on board before we go ahead with any such project.”
Public hearings were twice disrupted recently due to the steadfast protest of local people opposed to the project as they fear that their pristine river will be ruined by the creation of a dam on it.
According to the minister, the power project is very important for Meghalaya because it will be able to generate an additional 110 megawatts of additional electricity, thereby addressing the perennial shortage of power that the state faces.
