After protests, Meghalaya dam project ‘scrapped’

Forum of pressure groups smells a rat as public hearings for the project were called a year after it was said to have been terminated in 2020.

The Meghalaya government has “scrapped” an agreement with private power developers to execute the proposed 210 MW Umngot hydroelectric project following protests. But the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of local pressure groups is wary of the “ambiguity” of the announcement as the government had sought public hearings on the project in April, a year after it was said to have been terminated. On August 30, the State’s Power Minister James Sangma said the hydropower project on river Umngot was not on the government’s priority list. “We would like to supplement our existing hydropower generation with solar, wind and other renewable sources of energy,” he said.