Imphal, July 28 2010: Ridiculing the explanation given by Power Minister Phungzathang Tonsing that the Leimakhong Heavy Power Project is being kept as a 'stand by' even though there is acute shortage of power in the State at present, MLA O Joy of the Opposition has asserted taking cover under 'stand by' will not fool anyone as it does not make sense as the understanding of stand by comes in the backdrop of a fully functioning institution or a team.

Without making sure that the present power supply situation is properly managed, it is ridiculous to talk of the Leimakhong project as a stand by, Joy said and cited the example of Spain which lifted the World Cup.

Can stand by have any meaning if the first 11 are not ready, he countered.

Moving a token cut and policy cut motion during the discussion on passing five demands in the Assembly session today, O Joy pointed out that the Leimakhong Heavy Fuel Power Project, having a generating capacity of 36 megawatt, was constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 125.38 crores and it was inaugurated by the then President of India Dr Abdul Kalam in 2002 .

The five demands related to Consumers Affairs, Food and Public Distribution (Rs 12,78,70,000), Power (Rs 3,45,42,73,000), Stationery and Printing (Rs 4,00, 86,000), State Academy of Training (Rs 4,56,21,000) and Horticulture and Soil Conservation (Rs 41,92,50, 000) .

Questioning what the Power Minister meant by saying that the power project is being kept 'as a standby' when the people are reeling under acute power shortage, O Joy demanded to know why the power generated from the project was not made available to the people during the FIFA World Cup Football .

Informing the House that out of the six turbine machines, two have been out of order, O Joy asserted that the explanation of the Power Minister makes no sense.

Why should the power project be kept on standby, when there is already an acute shortage of power supply, O Joy wondered and demanded a technical audit of the project report.

Observing that nothing can be done in this modern world without energy, O Joy said that lack of fund can never be an excuse.

Why should the people of the localities concerned be made to contribute money for repairing the transformers, he questioned.

He also demanded to know why the State Government should not take over the Loktak Hydro Electric Project from NHPC now since the power corporation has already recovered the invested amount and has started earning profits.

With regard to Consumers Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, O Joy observed that prices of essential commodities have sky-rocketed.

The present crisis of shortage of food and other essential commodities in Manipur is an artificial crisis.

If the same situation remains, it would not only be detrimental to the image of the House but would also give a serious impact on the Government.

It is because the people are patient that petrol and other essential commodities are being sold in the black market at higher rate though the same are not available in the market.

So without waiting for the wrath of the people, it would be advisable to take up necessary measures for controlling the prices and ensure availability of essential commodities to the people adequately and stop siphoning through black markets, O Joy suggested.

Opposition MLAs Dr Ng Bijoy, Dr I Ibohalbi, RK Anand and Th Shyamkumar also placed their observations on the floor of the House during the discussion on passing of the demands.

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