UT News Service | SHILLONG, Aug 17: Congress party in Meghalaya on Monday demanded institution of an independent inquiry into the alleged mismanagement in the Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL) while slamming the State government for appointing a junior officer as the Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the corporation.
Congress spokesperson Zenith Sangma alleged the MeECL management is in a mess as it could not fix two machineries at Umïam Hydro Electric Power for the past one year.
“A power plant having the capacity to generate 30 MW is not generating power for the past one year. Why has the company failed to restore the two machines?” Sangma questioned stating that from July another machine with a generating capacity of 42 MW in Myntdu-Leshka Hydro Electric Project has also been out of order.
He further alleged that due to mismanagement, these machineries have not been fixed and as a result, the State is losing over Rs 100 crores in the past one year.
Stating that the current state of affairs in the MeECL may be due to weakness in the leadership or inexperience in the MeECL’s leadership, Sangma said, “Therefore, only an independent inquiry can identify the shortcomings as well as fix people behind the lapses.”
On the MCS officer, A Nikhla as the CMD of MeECL, the Congress leader said that Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma had assured the State Assembly that a full time CMD would be appointed as it was only a stop gap arrangement, but nothing has been done till date.
“The junior officer who is the joint secretary to the Power department is the CMD of the MeECL, and director (corporate affairs),” Sangma said while arguing that earlier, senior officers, not less than the rank of Principal Secretary or Chief Secretary, used to occupy the CMD post.
NNN