GUWAHATI, Aug 27: The Arunachal Pradesh government on Tuesday signed a power purchase agreement with the NHPC for supply of power from the 2000 mw Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project.
The agreement was signed here in Assam during a meeting of the chief secretaries and principal power secretaries of the Northeast states to review the power sector in the region.
Addressing the representatives, union Power Minister RK Singh said, “Development of northeastern India is on high priority of the union government, and a well-developed power sector is prerequisite to economic development in these states.”
He said the NE has “huge hydro potential, and the state governments have a major role in hydro projects by way of facilitating land acquisition and implementing the resettlement and rehabilitation plans.”
Giving assurance that he would provide full support to developing hydropower in the region, Singh urged all stakeholders to work in close coordination “to optimally harness the hydro potential” of the region, citing the examples of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, which he said have become prosperous through hydropower projects.
“In order to redeem our pledge for 24×7 power, we will have to reduce the losses and make the distribution companies viable,” he said, and again cited examples of states which had huge commercial losses but have been able to bring down the losses to 15 percent or below.
The union minister urged the NE states to adopt “smart and prepaid meters to avoid power theft,” and assured the state governments of all assistance from the central government in creating power infrastructure.
Singh reviewed various power sector schemes and projects being implemented in the NE states, such as the Integrated Power Development Scheme, the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana, the Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (Saubhagya), and the R-APDRP.
Taking note of the gaps, he directed the agencies concerned to speed up the completion of pending work, and advised the state governments to extend help in getting statutory clearances.
It may be mentioned that new projects worth Rs 1797.43 crore have been sanctioned under the IPDS for the NE region.
The meeting was also attended by senior officers of the power ministry and representatives of the distribution companies.
