Itanagar: Almost 7 years after it was conceived, the much anticipated Kurung Hydroelectric Project (HEP) in Arunachal Pradesh’s Kra-Daadi district could finally see the light of the day.
For the project to be realized, a “development meeting” that facilitated a two way conversation between the North East Electrical Power Corporation (NEEPCO) authorities and the locals was held at Dari village in Kra Daadi district on Monday.
Officials said the people wholeheartedly welcomed the NEEPCO dignitaries; however, they also expressed their resentment over the lackadaisical approaches of the corporation and zero action taken on the ground ever since they visited the site after the project was allotted to them in 2015.
Following deliberations, the public, which has at large remained in support of the project went a step further and offered to donate the land required for setting up of a NEEPCO camp office and accommodation in the greater interest of the area.
The exemplary support by the public motivated the NEEPCO team which was led by director (technical) H K Deka, who in turn, assured to initiate the survey and investigation process immediately to achieve the project’s completion target, officials said.
A joint inspection of the project site was also carried out on the day.
The Arunachal government had in 2015 allocated the ambitious 330 MW project on the Kurung River near Muiri Village of Kra Daadi district to the NEEPCO for execution.
However, even after more than 6 years of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) being signed, the execution process had not caught pace.
Accordingly, in order to resolve such pending issues, Palin legislator and advisor to power and hydropower minister Balo Raja, had last year written to the NEEPCO authorities and later also convened a series of meetings with them.
Monday’s meeting at Dari Village was one of the major outcomes of the initiatives carried out by Raja.
The 330 MW Kurung HEP will be a joint venture of the NEEPCO and the Hydro Power Development Corporation of Arunachal Pradesh Limited (HPDCAPL), with the former being the majority stakeholder of the project.
Among others, HPDCAPL chief managing director Toko Onuj also took part in Monday’s meeting.
