Facing calls from political allies to be stripped of the power portfolio, an under attack James Sangma mounted an impassioned defence of his performance as Power Minister at a press conference here today.
On the demand by the United Democratic Party (UDP), an ally of his National People’s Party, Sangma said that, although he shares the concerns of the party, the approach (in having him fired) is misdirected.
Earlier this week the UDP sent a letter to Chief Minister Conrad Sangma that called for his brother James to be removed from this particular portfolio. The letter also demanded the removal of the Chairman and Managing Director of the Meghalaya Energy Corporation Ltd (MeECL), Arunkumar Kembhavi. The UDP is extremely dissatisfied with the performance of the state’s Power Department.
Once again, the minister blamed the previous Congress Party-led government for the financial mess in the power utility.
“These are dues of so many years ago which have accumulated. One cannot expect that the solution can be arrived at within a short period of two to three years. We need to work collectively and the government is trying its best to find solutions to the problems,” Sangma said. “We need to direct it (blame) to those who signed faulty power purchase agreements which have put us in this kind of situation. We have to direct it (blame) to those who promised Rs 844 crore and failed to keep that commitment, resulting in MeECL having to spend Rs 712 crore from its own pocket.” In this he was referring to the Congress, who he has previously blamed for signing expensive agreements with the National Thermal Power Corporation and for promising and then reneging on paying terminal benefits to MeECL employees, which the corporation has had to bear the cost of.
“Be it as a father or as a Power Minister, this is my assurance to the public that, as long as I will be in my capacity to serve, I will not let any person in this state suffer or lose out on an opportunity because of power issues,” he said in a press release after the state suffered days of debilitating load shedding.
Although the MeECL was able to restore uninterrupted power supply by NEEPCO and others, thanks to a loan from the central government, the financial situation appears grim.
Sangma informed that MeECL earns Rs 75 crore per month from consumers but spends a whopping Rs 120 crore, thereby making a monthly loss of Rs 45 crore, which equates to Rs 540 crore annually.
The minister said that the state is currently paying Rs 65 lakh per day to NEEPCO, Rs 50 lakh per day to OTPC and Rs 6.5 crore per month to Power Grid to ensure that power supply remains uninterrupted.
Meanwhile, Sangma cleared the air on the issue of monetizing MeECL assets.
The corporation’s employees recently alleged that the government’s plan to engage a private firm to monetize the land assets of the MeECL was unduly hurried through a meeting of the Board of Directors. The employees fear that this will eventually lead to the privatization of the utility.
“The MeECL has no choice but to monetize its assets. But this does not mean selling off the assets of the MeECL,” Sangma said. “The ownership will remain with the MeECL and it will end encroachment.”
The Power Minister also said that the government has decided to cancel those power projects signed by earlier governments that have not taken off and reissue expressions of interest (EoIs).
