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Staff Reporter

Shillong, Sept 12: Power Minister Abu Taher Mondal today said the Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL) is trying to minimise losses and increase its efficiency.

His statement was in reference to the recent report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), which had revealed that during the year 2023-23, around 65 per cent (Rs 371.17 crore) of the total loss (Rs 572.28 crore) incurred by 14 working SPSEs was contributed by two power sector SPSEs - Meghalaya Power Generation Corporation Limited (MePGCL) and Meghalaya Power Distribution Corporation Limited (MePDCL).

“We are working on it. It is not an easy thing. Forget about our generation, distribution and transmission components even in other states also it is a similar situation.There are lots of issues of concern (such as A&TC losses, outstanding dues of consumers etc),” Mondal told reporters

“We are trying to see that losses are minimized, and efficiency is increased as this will indirectly help our consumers also. So we are working on it. Situations are better and if we work on this and it continues like this, things will be positive,” he said.

The power minister said, “The chief minister's target is to see that electricity is provided to consumers uninterruptedly and because of that supplement is required as you got to buy power especially during lean seasons and government of Meghalaya is helping in a big way and in that process, the amount also is very high.”

“If the same amount is not required by MePDCL, just imagine how many roads, hospitals, schools, colleges could be constructed. That is the concern of the chief minister and he told us in very clear terms that whatever reforms needed to be done as far as the three (entities of the corporation) is concerned, it should be looked into and we are working on that,” he said while adding “It is not easy. It is not that overnight we will do it. There are lots of problems there, borrowings are there, loan components are there, dues are there – all these affect the distribution system, even generation and transmission also.”

Expressing optimism to be able to revive MeECL, Mondal said, “I am positive and that is why we are working on it. You might have seen there are lots of improvements when compared to last year and the last two years also. I am thankful to the chief minister because without his support and guidance it would not have been possible because the finance department is giving us all the resources that we required.”

“MeECL is also working in a very professional way and till the date I have taken over, I have seen, they are working. You must be seeing that cyclone remal has devastatingly destroyed our transmission line, and very swiftly and competently MeECL has restored these lines though we have to employ additional manpower to restore the supply chain but we are doing,” he added.

Stating that this year, the MeECL has not gone for a single minute loadshedding, the power minister however said, “You may complain then why so much power disruptions/cuts. These are because of shutdowns for maintenance works or some transformers get snapped or get blown off or maybe pin insulators get raptured somewhere in the transmission line - all these require shutdown. These are not frequent load shedding but shutdowns required for maintenance especially on Saturday morning, you will face a little bit of a problem as we require shutdowns.”

Whether the MeECL is considering downsizing the number of employees, Mondal said there has been no decision taken to that effect so far.

“Exactly, there is no decision taken so far to downsize the staffing pattern of MeECL; rather we need some more engineers, then junior engineers and even staff like jugalis. We are having shortage of manpower also but because of financial constraints we are not able to take more manpower. As of now we are not thinking of reducing the manpower,” he stated further.

The Tura Government College Students’ Union (TGCSU) on Friday requested the Power Minister Abu Taher Mondal to reduce the hours of load shedding in view of students preparing and writing their semester examinations.

In a statement, TGCSU president Anand Ch Momin said that the union feels that it is not advisable to have long hours of load shedding as it is going to have a bad impact on the studies of the students.

“Having more than 10-15 hours of load shedding is unbearable, especially during summer not only for students but the person of any age. We would like to make an appeal to the power minister to make amends to the load shedding hours and reduce the hours considering also the fact that students are preparing and writing their exams as well,” he said. 

Staff Reporter

Shillong, April 6: Power Minister Abu Taher Mondal has informed that the government will further discuss the report of the inquiry committee into the alleged irregularities in the implementation of the Saubhagya scheme.

“We are discussing further into it so let us see,” Mondal told reporters.

When asked if there is any scam in the implementation of the scheme, the minister said, “How can you tell as these are allegations only and that is why the independent inquiry has been constituted.”

Earlier in the just concluded Assembly’s budget session, Mondal had informed that the report of the inquiry committee has been sent to the finance department for its comment.

“After the finance department gives its comment then only we can say whether there are irregularities or not,” Mondal had then stated in the House while replying to a query raised by an opposition Congress legislator from Umsning Dr Celestine Lyngdoh relating to the allegations made against the implementation of the scheme.

Meghalaya Times

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