Shillong, April 3: The Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited will be spinning mechanical equipment of the Myntdu Leshka hydroelectric project within this month, as a prelude to commissioning of the first unit of the much-awaited project.
The spinning of mechanical equipment should be first carried out on a trial basis before the project is commissioned, said Meghalaya chief secretary W.M.S. Pariat, who is also the chairman-cum-managing director of the corporation.
He expressed hope that the first 42MW unit would be commissioned within the current month.
During the recent budget session of the Assembly, KHNAM legislator Paul Lyngdoh had criticised the state government for the undue delay in commissioning of the 126MW hydroelectric project.
The government had to repeatedly postpone its commissioning because of various reasons. It was first scheduled for commissioning in December 2009, before it was shifted to March 2010, June 2010, October 2010 and finally, January 2011.
When the January 2011 deadline could not be met, the government extended it till February, but failed to meet this too.
The commissioning was severely hampered by two major incidents of flash floods in October 8, 2009, and May 20, 2010.
Lyngdoh said while the reports of both the incidents were yet to be made public, the project cost had escalated by Rs 23.81 lakh per day, Rs 7.14 crore per week and Rs 85.73 crore per month because of time and cost overrun.
He also said the cost of the project, which started in 2004 at an initial estimate of Rs 300.63 crore, had gone up to Rs 965 crore.
Even last month, incessant rains had posed fresh problems for the project as water entered the dam’s powerhouse.
Power minister A.T. Mondal had earlier expressed confidence that the first unit of the project should be commissioned by February. He had said the spinning of mechanical equipment on a trial basis should commence from February 15. Later, however, he denied that the government had set the February date for commissioning the project.
The second unit of the project may be commissioned in May while the third and last unit should be up by September this year.
