Uttarakhand cold to Jaypee's 'offer'

The power corporation is running into heavy losses, which is a big worry for the state government as it spend more than Rs 1000 cr every year on buying power from outside the state

Amid reports that the Jaypee Group wants to sell its entire hydropower business, the Uttarakhand government hasn't shown interest in buying the company's 440-Mw Vishnuprayag hydel project on the Alaknanda in Chamoli district.

A senior official of Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam, the state-run power generation company, said the company had mooted the idea of purchasing the Vishnuprayag project. "We are going to discuss with the government whether we can purchase such a big project," the official told Business Standard. But senior government officials have remained silent on the issue.

Anil Ambani Group's Reliance Power had said it was buying Jaiprakash Associates' three hydel projects, including the Vishnuprayag unit.

The state is relying on power purchased from outside at steep rates, which puts tremendous financial burden on the state-run Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited, the sole power distribution company in the state.

The power corporation is running into heavy losses, which is a big worry for the state government as it spend more than Rs 1000 crore every year on buying power from outside the state.