Imphal, July 30 -- The Manipur Cabinet has approved the closure of the 66 MW Loktak Downstream Hydroelectric Project and decided to wind up the Loktak Downstream Hydroelectric Corporation Limited (LDHCL), bringing an end to a project that had faced years of opposition over its environmental and social impact.

The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh on Wednesday at the Cabinet Hall of the New Secretariat in Mantripukhri.

According to sources, the state government decided to scrap the hydropower project in view of long-standing concerns raised by local communities and civil society organisations over environmental degradation, submergence of agricultural land and questions surrounding t...