The electricity crisis plaguing Meghalaya currently is all the fault of an agreement entered into by the Congress Party when it was in charge of the state back in 2007, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said in the Assembly today.
The agreement in question was between Meghalaya and the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC). The failure of the state to pay its dues to the latter has led to several hours of load shedding every day.
According to Sangma, a clause in the 2007 agreement states that Meghalaya must buy electricity from the NTPC project in Bongaigaon. Even if it draws nothing from the plant, it must still pay fixed fees. The project was completed in 2019 and, as the agreement was for 25 years, it will last until 2044.
“How did the government sign such a lop-sided agreement? How could any government put its own people in such a situation? This government and the MeECL (Meghalaya Energy Corporation Ltd) has to bear the brunt,” Sangma said while replying to a motion on the failure of governance of law and order in the State.
The Chief Minister informed the house that the NTPC charges Rs 5.7 per unit, which is much higher than the market rate.
He said that the state will have to pay approximately Rs 133 crore per year for not taking power from NTPC or Rs 3,325 crore over the 25-year period.
