Shillong, June 5: Power Minister Metbah Lyngdoh has assured power consumers of taking steps to resolve grievances related to the MeECL franchise in Mawsynram subdivision.
However, the state government is proceeding cautiously on the matter due to an ongoing litigation, Lyngdoh said on Friday.
He said the government’s focus was on improving service delivery, but issues had emerged under the current model.
“The whole intention is to put a delivery mechanism in place to ensure better services are provided to the people of the state. But in the process, some problems have come up,” he said.
“We had a meeting with the department and the corporation and addressed all the issues raised by different organizations.”
He added that Mawsynram MLA Olan Sing Suin, Ranikor legislator Pius Marwein had met him twice to highlight consumer complaints.
“They met me two times and raised concerns that consumers are facing problems from time to time with billing, shutdowns, and the overall services that are supposed to be provided,” Lyngdoh said.
A decision on the matter was due months ago, he said, but was deferred because the case is pending before the High Court.
“We were supposed to take a decision a few months back, but because the matter is in the High Court, we have to be careful. Any decision by the government should not go against the matter already taken up in court,” he said.
Lyngdoh said Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma had since directed him to proceed.
“Since we understand the gravity of the problems faced by consumers there, I met the chief minister again and apprised him of all the concerns. He told me, ‘Please look into the matter and go ahead with whatever decision needs to be taken,” the minister said.
“Based on that, I have directed the department to see what action can be taken to ensure that the matter related to the court is not infringed upon from the corporation’s side,” he added.
