Unable to make a headway in the hydropower sector, owing to the rising religious and environmental concerns, Uttarakhand has now decided to focus on green power through micro hydel projects.
In a decision, the government today made Uttarakhand Renewable Energy Development Agency as the nodal agency for the development of these projects of 100 Kw in the state. According to Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar, the decision was taken at a meeting of the state cabinet, presided over by Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank.
The decision came after the Central government extended a heavy subsidy for the development of micro hydel projects in the Himalayan region under the renewable energy mission. According to an estimate, Uttarakhand is lagging in the hydropower sector as compared to Himachal Pradesh. Even in micro hydel projects, the state has not been able to take benefits of the subsidy from the Centre in the past two years.
Kumar said a subsidy of Rs80 per kilowatt was available for such projects. In case of border areas, the subsidy was Rs1 lakh per kilovolt, he added. Kumar said the government had received 80 applications for the development of these hydel projects and reaffirmed the committment to give preference to local people, societies and non-governmental organisations.
Kumar also said the rates for energy through micro hydel projects have been fixed at Rs3.25 per unit by the Uttarakhand Electricity Regulatory Commission. The decision came just a year after the state decided to keep itself away from the development of big hydel projects in the wake of growing environmental concerns.