A newly set up state-run power company in Himachal Pradesh has bagged seven major hydel projects in the state. Official sources said the state government had quietly allotted seven major projects with a total capacity of 1,423 Mw to the recently set up Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation (HPPC). |
"The Luhri project (700 Mw), Shongtong Karcham project (402 Mw), Sainj project (100 Mw), Dhamwari-Sunda project (60 Mw), Chirgaon-Majhgaon project (45 Mw), Harsar project (45 Mw) and Bharmaur project (45 Mw) have been assigned to the state-run HPPC," said an official. |
Observers see the Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd (SJVNL) as the biggest loser after this decision. Earlier, the 700 Mw Luhri project had been allotted to SJVNL. It was presumed that the SJVNL would get most of these the hydel projects in the power potential rich Sutlej and Pabbar basins. |
Over the past decade the SJVNL has only been able to get only a couple of projects including the already built 1,500 Mw Nathpa and the under construction 412 Rampur project. |
Problems began between the Himachal Pradesh government and SJVNL when the Central power ministry appointed its own nominee to the post of director of the SJVNL instead of the official nominated by the state government. |
The Centre has a 75 per cent stake in the SJVNL while the rest belongs to the Himachal Pradesh government. The company two years ago built the 1,500 Mw Nathpa project the country's largest hydel project. The Nathpa project is not running smoothly as it has to frequently battle high silt levels in the Sutlej river which hampers the project in the summer months. |
Earlier, this week the SJVNL chief had told reporters here that the company was now exploring building projects in Nepal and Bhutan, apart from Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh. |