Kolkata: THE governments of West Bengal and Sikkim signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a hydel power project to be built on the Rammam river that runs along the boundaries of the two states on Tuesday. The Rs 650-crore project will be built by the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC). It is expected to be complete by 2011-2012 and will produce 120 mega-watt of hydel power.
The MoU was signed by West Bengal Power Secretary Sunil Sengupta and his Sikkim counterpart D D Pradhan.
While Sikkim will get 14 mw of power, NTPC will get 16 mw which it can sell either in West Bengal or outside the state. West Bengal will get the remaining 90 mw which will improve the power situation of the state,” said Mrinal Banerjee, state minister for power who was present during the signing ceremony.
The minister also said the state government was taking all measures to check load-shedding which has become a bane for the people these days. “It is the peak of summer and consumption of power has increased manifold. While we can not do without phases of load-shedding here and there, we are trying our best to improve the situation,” said Banerjee.
The West Bengal State Electricity Board (WBSEB) had established a hydro-electric project on the Rammam river in 1995.
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