PM to inaugurate 60 MW Tuitial Hydro Project in Mizoram today

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate 60 MW Tuitial Hydroelectric Power Project (HEPP) to the nation, worth Rs 1302 crore in Mizoram on Saturday. PM Modi will also distribute cheques to the start-up entrepreneurs of Aizawl along with launching of 'MyDoNER App'.

The Tuitial HEPP has been constructed as a Central Sector Project and implemented by North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO), under the administrative control of the power ministry.

The project being remotely located and will encounter various hindrances ranging from inadequate communication infrastructure to the project site, massive failure of the Power House slopes due to poor soil condition, lack of availability of skilled manpower etc, the Government of India mentioned.

While a power ministry statement said, "The Project is the biggest power project located in the State of Mizoram and will feed the entire energy to be generated to the home State, which will facilitate all-round development of the State and achieving Government of India's ambitious and flagship Mission '24x7 Affordable Clean Power for All'."

The cabinet had cleared the project in July 1998 with commissioning scheduled in July 2006.

After completion of about 30 per cent of the project activities, the works were totally suspended from June 2004 due to local agitation. With sustained efforts by NEEPCO and with active support of Ministry of Power and Ministry of DoNER, along with the state government, the stalled works of the project were resumed in January 2011.

The government has also claimed that with this power project Mizoram will be the third state in North-East with power-surplus after Sikkim and Tripura.

According to Centre's data the total power demand in the state is only 87 MW and that is being met by its own mini power projects and rest from the central sector projects. However, "Apart from attaining self-sufficiency in electric power, the project will fetch other spin-off benefits to the state of Mizoram like employment generation, navigation, water supply, pisciculture and wild life conservation, tourism etc," the power ministry claimed further.