NEEPCO threatens legal action against Meghalaya govt

Shillong, Aug 26 (UNI) The North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) has indicated move court if its Mawphu power project in Meghalaya was hampered in any way, a top NEEPCO official said today.

Last month, the Meghalaya Progressive Alliance (MPA) coalition government scrapped two Memorandum of Agreements (MOAs) signed between Jaypee Group and Athena Project Private Limited and the previous Congress-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government.

Moreover, the MoAs signed between four private companies, including ETA Star Infrastructure Limited (ESIL), and the MDA government to develop power projects would be ''re-written.'' NEEPCO had also inked an MoU with the ersthwile MDA government to develop the Mapwhu project on Umiew River basin.

Simultaneously, the government signed an MOU with ETA Star Infrastructure Limited (ESIL) to develop two ''upstream'' power projects (Umjaut and Umduna) on the same basin.

The decision of the MDA government to allow the two upstream projects ahead of NEEPCO's has now made the corporation's ''downstream'' project non-viable.

'' Suddenly the government handed two upstream projects to ESIL ahead of our (NEEPCO) project, '' a top NEEPCO official said.

The official said even former Deputy Chief Minister in-charge Power Mukul Sangma was handed the Detailed Project Report and also given a presentation to develop the Mawphu project first by the corporation.

'' Technically we are on solid legal ground and if the government takes a decision in favour of ESIL, NEEPCO has to do a hard rethinking, '' the NEEPCO official said.

In fact, most of the political parties and NGOs has alleged that the previous Congress-led coalition government signed the MOUs with the six private companies in ''haste and shady manner'' demanding the MOUs be scrapped.

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