Binay Tamang, the Executive GTA Sabha member in charge of Information and Cultural department, said, "In the memorandum of agreement signed with the Centre and the state government, we had demanded that Sidrapong hydel project, the oldest in India, be restored. The Union Finance department has allocated Rs 8 crore for its restoration from the annual central package of Rs 200 crore for the GTA."
Tamang said the GTA had already received the amount and a meeting would be convened with officials concerned on Friday to draw up a blueprint to renovate the project.
The hydel project, situated 12 km from Darjeeling and in the foothills of Arya tea garden, was commissioned on November 10, 1897, by the then acting lieutenant-governor of Bengal, Charles Cecil Stevens.
The power station, situated at an altitude of 3,600ft, is fed by three streams, Barbata, Hospital and Kotwali. It still generates 0.6 megawatt of electricity a day and is currently managed by the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Corporation Limited.
However, the plant produces power erratically as turbines are old and don't function properly. Besides, the dam and the powerhouse are in run-down condition.