TMC targets Meghalaya government over Chinese meters
GUWAHATI: The Trinamool Congress has alleged that the Meghalaya government bent rules and compromised on the country’s security by allowing an Indian company to install Chinese smart meters in the state. On July 23, 2020, the Centre made an amendment to the General Financial Rules, 2017 that banned bidders from countries which share a land border with India on grounds of national security.
TMC leader Saket Gokhale said the smart meters being installed in the Meghalaya households were manufactured by a Chinese company, Inhemeter, based in Shenzhen. In a letter to Donald Phillips Wahlang, chairman and MD of Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL), Gokhale said these meters contain a SIM card which connects them to telecom/internet network and they are fitted with smart cards linked to all power networks in India. He added that the state government violated the rules by allowing Satnam Global Infra Project Ltd, which is an Indian company, to procure smart meters from China.
The issue “not only pertains to the security of Northeast but also has great ramifications” on the power grid of India,” he wrote in the letter, a copy of which was sent to Meghalaya Power Minister Prestone Tynsong, who is also the deputy CM. Tynsong said REC Ltd is the technical agency. “When the tender process gets over, it will not end with MeECL. It will come to the Power Department, which will send it to Delhi. The REC will check whether this material is genuine or not. They will certify,” he said.