Union Power Minister Veerappa Moily laid the foundation stone of the first Hydel Power Project to be executed by NEEPCO in East Khasi Hills district, Meghalaya.

   The Rs 453 crore project is the first of its kind to be executed by the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation in the state after the government approved the execution in April last.

   Meanwhile, at a review meeting with the union government, Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma projected a power requirement of 150-180 mw besides pressing for additional allocation of central share of power to the state.

   The central government the state an additional 25 mw of power during the lean season from October till next monsoon to avoid load shedding that affected the students.

   At the meeting, Sangma and his colleagues discussed at length with the union power minister the various problems facing the power generation and distribution sectors of the state and on ways to increase the power generation in the state.

   The visiting union minister was updated on the status of the ongoing power generation projects and the bottlenecks faced by the government which needs to be taken to accelerate its implementation.