Gangtok: Shyam Saran, special representative of Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh stated that Sikkim can play a key role in cross-border energy trading with bordering countries including Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh by harnessing its hydel power prospective to the full.

In his speech on the ‘Role of border states in India's Foreign Relations and Regional Economic Cooperation’, Saran said, “By tapping its huge hydro-electricity potential, Sikkim can become a major supplier of power to the neighbouring countries.”

Saran begrudged the reality that the development in this segment in the State had not been as quick as anticipated.

Ascribing this droopiness of maturation in the hydel-power segment to local people defending power projects on different accounts, Saran stated that the environmental worries of the people were alright, but they need not fear anything if needed precautions were taken by the State government to preserve the environment.

“Development and ecology are not necessarily contradictory to each other; what we need to ensure is strike a balance between the two,” he added.

“Being a border state, Sikkim needed better roads, rail and air connectivity to play a key role in developing closer ties with our neighbours,” he also said.