DEHRADUN: Despite having immense resources available for electricity generation, power-starved Uttarakhand has received a setback, with the Centre putting on hold the approval for 21 hydropower projects of 2,123.6 MW capacity.
With this, the state government’s last hope rests on the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), which will take a decision in this matter based on the report of the SC set up expert body and the response of the ministries. About 40 new proposed hydropower projects in the state have been stalled for a long time. A meeting was held at the PMO on Friday under the chairmanship of PK Mishra, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, to seek permission for the construction of 21 projects.
“Out of 21 projects, there is no dispute on 11, the remaining 10 projects have also been approved by the expert body of the Supreme Court,” Sandeep Singhal, managing director of Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam told this newspaper. According to information received from departmental sources of the Energy Department the Ministry of Power supported the proposal of Uttarakhand, but the Ministry of Jal Shakti has objected to it on many issues related to the flow of rivers.”
State Energy Secretary R Meenakshi Sundaram said, “As of now, the PMO has considered all aspects and accordingly, the PMO will now take a decision on it.” He gave positive indications of the construction of these projects. According to sources in the energy department, the total installed power capacity of Uttarakhand is 5,212.03 MW. Its thermal installed capacity is 450 MW. The Himalayan state also has 3,855.35 MW of installed hydropower capacity, of which the state’s share is 1,252.15 MW, the Centre’s share is 1,774.20 MW and the private sector contributes 829 MW of power supply.