Union Minister of Power & Coal Piyush Goyal has lauded the efforts of the state government in its efforts to further the power sector in the state particularly with reference to the activities for streamlining the hydropower activities with the intention of making Arunachal Pradesh the oowerhouse of the country. While felicitating Chief Minister Nabam Tuki at the 2nd Economic Times Power Focus Summit at New Delhi Friday evening, Goyal termed Tuki as a distinguished leader who embodies the collective aspirations of the people of Arunachal Pradesh and has been passionately working towards ushering in multifarious development in the frontier state, an official commminique said here today. Goyal assured that the Centre would leave no stone unturned to support the state government towards various developmental activities initiated by the chief minister. Goyal offered to visit the state soon to discuss overall issues related to the power sector. A trophy and a Certificate of Merit were awarded to Tuki on the occasion. In the closing session of the 2nd Economic Times Power Focus Summit, Tuki delivered the Keynote address on the theme ‘24X7 Power to All’. At a distinguished gathering including the Power and Energy Ministers of Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal and also several experts and industry representatives, the chief minister termed the availability of power as a matter of right and that the onus was on the policy makers to meet their responsibilities in working towards a reasonable framework for realizing the Energy needs of the Nation – at the same time protecting the larger Environmental Concerns to the maximum possible extent. While giving an overview of the hydropower potential of Arunachal Pradesh, Tuki outlined the efforts made by his Government to develop an ecosystem for furthering the hydropower activities in the state. To this end, he mentioned that the state government has been giving special focus to introduce hydropower education and training for the development of skilled manpower in the hydropower sector. The chief minister expressed concern that a large chunk of public focus has been only on the negative aspects of hydropower. Less account has been taken of the benefits of hydropower and the knowledge and willingness which exists within the expertise to anticipate, mitigate and/or compensate for the negative aspects. He observed that whether it is the state, or the public or the hydropower industries – none is gaining from this tirade of negativity and it is time that adequate awareness is created and brought to the knowledge of the people to overcome this. Tuki expected a proactive approach from agencies such as Union Ministry of Environment & Forests and Climate Change to rationalize the norms for expediting environment and forest clearances. “The regulatory constraints arriving out of environmental concerns / laws, fiscal policies will have to be addressed proactively by the government of India so as to not miss the global race,” he said. On the part of the state governments, Tuki opined that they will have to adopt a global approach by accepting hydropower as a long term benefactor, as a clean power and largest economic driver. He emphasized that effective rehabilitation schemes, wider public consultations and grass–root participation in rehabilitation will go a long way in securing these desired objectives. “With India embarking on the mission “Make In India” – we have very limited time in expanding and sustainably harnessing the hydropower potential. Harnessing the potential of my state will trigger an investment of about Rs 4–5 lakh crores, which will lead to increased industrial growth, employment generation besides catering to the power requirement of the country as well as some of its neighbors,” Tuki said in his keynote address. He called for concerted effort of one and all including the central government, the state governments and the power developers has to be ensured for full growth of this sector and invited developers, industry experts and other stakeholders to participate in this development journey of Arunachal Pradesh. “In a democratic society, discussion, debate and dissent are catalysts and not barriers to growth. These are experiments through which we can achieve consensus and unanimity. I am hopeful that with the active intervention of the Centre, it will be possible to untie the regulatory bottlenecks. And with the full involvement of the state governments in seeking public acceptability, the projects will lead India towards equitable growth and economic prosperity,” the chief minister added. Also present with Tuki were Secretary Planning Sonam Chombay, Resident Commissioner V Abraham and other officials, the communiqué added.