Shillong, May 13: Power minister AT Mondal has held a technical issue responsible for Meghalaya lagging behind other states in implementation of smart electricity meters.
Some of the companies, which have participated in the tender process, were found to be blacklisted somewhere, Mondal told reporters on Tuesday.
The work allotment got delayed as the government does not yet have a mechanism of knowing in advance about the company’s history.
The power minister said he had raised this concern with the union power minister, who assured that henceforth all blacklisted companies would be shown in a portal especially designed for this purpose.
After floating the tender, the government will be able to check in the portal if any company is blacklisted or not.
Meanwhile, Mondal said the government would take all consumers into confidence to ensure smooth implementation of smart meters in the state.
Admitting power consumers’ concern over installation of smart meters, he said, “When you go for a new system or new technology, apprehension is always there. It is not only with smart meters.”
Pointing out that all states have gone ahead with smart meters, he said, “There were a lot of complaints and ultimately those issues have been resolved. We are one of the states, which are still lagging behind…”
