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DIMAPUR — Nagaland's Power Minister, KG Kenye, advocated for increased hydropower development and greater flexibility in implementing central schemes for north-eastern states during a conference of regional Power ministers in Guwahati on Tuesday.
Chaired by Union Power Minister Manohar Lal, the conference focused on reviewing ongoing schemes in the north-eastern states and deliberated on various issues of generation, transmission, distribution and power sector reforms in the region, according to an update.
During the meeting, Kenye stressed the long-pending need to boost power generation in Nagaland which has a potential of about 1000MW, while expressing concern over the lack of approvals for such projects despite the state government’s efforts. He formally requested the Union Minister to consider developing at least 500MW of hydropower capacity in Nagaland.
Additionally, he urged for relaxed guidelines in implementing centrally-sponsored power schemes, particularly the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), to better suit the north-east region’s specific needs.
Kenye also used the platform to reiterate a request for funding under the Capacity Building and Institutional Strengthening (CBIS) of North Eastern Region Power System Improvement Programme (NERPSIP) to construct a Lineman Training Centre building in Nagaland, which the Union Power Minister reportedly agreed to provide support for the training centre, the update stated.
The state’s Power minister was accompanied by the Secretary (Power) Asangla Imti, Chief Engineer (D&R) Wabangmeren Jamir and Chief Engineer (T&G) Kasho Chishi, it added.