PFA- HE The Governor’s Address- 16 Nov 2018
Mr Conrad Sangma, Hon,ble Chief Minister of Meghalaya, Mr Ranjit Dutta, Air Chief Marshall Arup Raha, Lt.General John Mukherjee,Major General Arun Roye and distinguished Ladies and Gentleman Good afternoon to everyone
At first I offer my congratulations to CENERS-K to have taken the initiative to organise this one day seminar on an issue which not only is vital for the overall growth of the North Eastern states but it effects each and every individual in the region be it be their livelihood ,education,and ultimate prosperity to be at par with the rest of the country.
The North Eastern states are situated at the farthest.corner of our country and in some cases in remote region where living poses hardship.Electricity and water are the two most essential commodities for survival.
There are many distant areas in the region where supply of electricity is just not existent.The building of transmission network in these regions is cost prohibitive.The only answer for these areas is decentralised supply of electricity by using the abundant resource of renewable source like wind,solar,small hydro,biomass etc.I am glad that this seminar has given emphasis to this requirement and many experts have deliberated a show to harness the various types of renewable sources available in the region.
Another very important factor is the cost of electricity.Electricity prices as delivered to your doorstep should be such that it is a affordable.I am not a supporter of ‘free electricity’ for anyone but the decision makers should regulate the electricity prices as such that it is affordable to all rich and poor industry and all
When one compares the electricity tariff with that of other countries we find in many cases our tariff is even higher than that of many developed countries.
Nearly half the population living in villages are still without electricity.Every household should have the access .So when we say that a village is having supply of electricity it should be applicable to all the household and not just a handful one.
Our country has a large population of cows.Cowdung can be very successfully used as a fuel for generation of electricity cheaply.Why not we explore this in the North East region
Finally I would like to thank the organisers for inviting me at this very apt seminar and I am sure the takeaways from the seminar will go a long way to pave a brighter future for this region.
Jai Hind