Shillong, Jul 28: The Power Department, through the state-owned Meghalaya Energy Corporation Ltd (MeECL), is set to lease out over 273 acres of unused land to the Tourism Department for the development of premium tourism infrastructure at Umiam Lake.
Power Minister AT Mondal confirmed that 273.41 acres of idle MeECL land will soon be handed over on a lease. He noted that the land, currently lying vacant, had raised concerns over possible encroachment.
“The Tourism Department had approached us with a request to lease the land for tourism-related projects. We’ve agreed and the process of handing it over will be completed shortly,” Mondal told reporters.
The land parcels to be leased include key locations such as the existing Inspection Bungalow (IB) campus, areas stretching from Lake Junction along Rishatsngi up to Nongsder village, a police station, land behind the MeECL school, the HRDC campus extending to NESAC, the Block 5 area and the scenic Lum Pongdeng Island.
The transfer is in line with state government policy and will initially be on a 60-year lease, extendable by another 30 years. Discussions are currently underway to finalise the finer details of the agreement.
The minister stressed that MeECL will continue to retain custodianship of the Umiam Lake itself. “The lake remains under MeECL’s protection. No construction will be permitted unless it meets all prescribed norms and regulations,” he said.
The state government has ambitious plans for the Umiam region, including the development of five-star hotels and the launch of Lake Cruise services to elevate the tourism experience around the iconic lake.
With this initiative, Meghalaya aims to unlock the untapped tourism potential of Umiam while ensuring that its ecological and environmental sanctity is preserved under the watchful eye of MeECL.
