Meghalaya Cabinet Approves ₹22.37 Crore Land Compensation for Mawkhanu Transmission Line, New Shillong

What was decided

The Meghalaya Cabinet, meeting on Monday, 27 July 2026 under Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma, cleared a land compensation package for a new 132 KV power transmission line running through Mawkhanu in New Shillong Township. Shillong, Jul 27: The Meghalaya Cabinet on Monday approved Rs 22.7 crore for land compensation required for the construction of a 6.5 km, 132 KV transmission line at Mawkhanu, New Shillong Township, in a decision taken during a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma.

Two figures appear across coverage of the same decision. Some outlets report the sanctioned sum as ₹22.37 crore as land compensation for the construction of a transmission line connecting the Mawkhanu Substation, with the project requiring land acquisition along a 6.5-kilometre stretch, a figure repeated by other reports as Rs 22.37 crore as land compensation for the construction of a 6.5-km 132 KV transmission line linking the existing 220/132 KV Secondary Sub-Station with the proposed 132/33 KV, 2×50 MVA Mawkhanu Sub-Station. Other outlets covering the same Cabinet briefing cite ₹22.7 crore instead. This page records both figures as reported; the underlying project (a 6.5 km, 132 KV line to Mawkhanu) is consistent across all sources.

Operative details of the transmission line

Briefing reporters after the meeting, Cabinet Minister Marcuise N. Marak explained the technical scope of the project. He said the transmission line will connect the existing 220/132 KV substation to the proposed 132/33 KV, 2×50 MVA Mawkhanu substation.

Describing the land requirement, the minister said: "There is a stretch of around 6.5 km of transmission line that is being drawn to the Mawkhanu substation. For this, the government will have to acquire some plots of land, and the Cabinet has already approved the compensation."

The minister also clarified the legal character of the land involved. He clarified that in the case of power transmission projects, the land used by the department is termed as 'Right of Way'. A separate report adds that the approved amount includes compensation for the Right of Way (RoW) required for the transmission corridor.

Why the line is being built

The Mawkhanu Substation is a new facility planned to serve the growing New Shillong Township. Reporting on the government's broader power-infrastructure push had earlier flagged the site: officials said "We want the new township at Mawkhanu to have a substation before it" comes up, as part of a wider plan to strengthen distribution across Shillong. The Cabinet's compensation approval is the land-acquisition step needed to physically build the connecting line, and the government said the project will strengthen the state's electricity transmission network and improve power infrastructure.

Related decision: New Shillong's development authority renamed

At the same Cabinet meeting, a separate but connected governance decision was taken affecting New Shillong Township's administering body. The Cabinet also approved the renaming of the New Shillong Township Development Agency as the New Shillong Development Authority. A fuller account describes the legal mechanism: the Cabinet approved amendments to the New Township Development Agency Rules, 2012, paving the way for the conversion of the New Shillong Township Development Agency into the New Shillong Development Authority (NSDA).

Explaining the practical import of the change, the minister said: the cabinet reconstituted New Shillong Development Agency into New Shillong Development Authority, "With this change, it will now operate as an authority."

Background: Mawkhanu inside the New Shillong master plan

Mawkhanu is one of the named growth nodes inside the New Shillong project area. The project includes areas such as Umsawli, Mawpdang, and Mawkhanu and has been designated by the state government as a major growth centre for governance, education, innovation and economic activity. Within the master plan, the Knowledge City involves development of approximately 807 acres at Mawpdang and Mawkhanu to host educational institutions, research facilities, cultural hubs and associated infrastructure.

The Mawkhanu-area land pipeline has seen other recent state action. In November 2025, the Meghalaya Cabinet approved acquisition of an additional 35 acres of land at Tynring in New Shillong Township to develop a corridor linking the Administrative City and the Knowledge City, and separately, in July 2024, the state government finalized the land rates in the New Shillong Township (NST) phase-II and Mawkhanu area.

Practical effect

The Cabinet's approval clears the funding needed to compensate landowners along the 6.5 km corridor, which is the immediate precondition for physical construction of the line to begin. The approved amount will be used to compensate landowners along the stretch. No construction start date, contractor, or commissioning timeline for the Mawkhanu Substation or the connecting line had been announced in the Cabinet briefing as of 27–28 July 2026. Readers should treat this as a land-acquisition/compensation approval — a funding and legal step — rather than confirmation that construction or substation commissioning has begun.