NHPC, UJVNL top contenders for Lakhwar-Vyasi project

After the Centre declared 420 MW Lakhwar-Vyasi as national project, National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC) and Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd (UJVNL) are the two major contenders in the race to clinch the final deal.

The government has so far remained non-committal regarding the allotment of the project, which is hanging due to paucity of funds for the last 20 years.

An investment of nearly Rs 3,000-4,000 crore is proposed in the project. Sensing that the NHPC was preparing the revised Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the project, the state-owned UJVNL, which recently put Maneri Bhali-II project into operation has intensified efforts for the allotment. For this purpose, UJVNL's CMD Yogendra Prasad is in close touch with the top state government functionaries.

The allotment process for the Lakhwad Vyasi, which will benefit several northern states like Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, got hotter after Centre declared it as a national project and promised to bear 90 per cent of its cost following techno-economic appraisal of the DPR and investment clearance by the Planning Commission.

After Uttarakhand came into being in 2000, the state government handed over the responsibility of preparing the revised DPR of the multipurpose project, being built on the river Yamuna, to NHPC.

Once the project is completed, it would likely produce 927 million units of power besides irrigating 40,000 hectares of land through east Yamuna canal. Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi would be the beneficiary states, who will get the drinking and irrigation waters from the project.

The construction of the project initially started in 1979 by the Uttar Pradesh irrigation Department. But due to paucity of funds, the project could not see the light of the day. There is going to be 200-meter high arch-gravity concrete dam, underground power house with 2.7 km long headrace tunnels.