India, Dec. 22 -- The Mizoram government has decided to privatise or outsource seven small hydel power plants due to high maintenance costs, an official of the state Power and Electricity (P&E) department said on Sunday.

The decision was announced by Chief Minister Lalduhoma while inaugurating a 10 MW solar power plant at Thenzawl in Serchhip on Saturday, the official added.

He said the decision was made with the belief that it would benefit the state, as the maintenance costs of the projects are high.

The move, however, was opposed by the opposition Congress. Former Congress legislator T.T. Zothansanga said the decision was detrimental to Mizoram's interests and unjustifiable given the revenue-generating capacity of the plants.

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