The Himachal Pradesh government has cancelled the allotment of seven mini-hydro electric projects, saying the companies have violated the terms and conditions of the agreement signed with the state government.
According to a decision taken by the state cabinet, the Independent Power Producers(IPPs) forfeit their earnest money and bank guarantee for not starting the project construction work within the prescribed time frame.
Among the seven cancelled projects, three including the 3-Mw Machhad-II, and 5-Mw Koot are in Shimla district, while 2-Mw Anu, 3-Mw Chennari and 4.5-Mw Bakhali projects are in Mandi district. The 2.5-Mw project at Moujhi is in Kangra district.
The state government has decided to issue new advertisements for the scrapped projects in order to invite fresh proposals.
Between 1995 and 2004, the state government alloted 304 micro-mini and small hydrel projects having a total generation capacity of 1,031 Mw.These projects were mostly allotted to local entrepreneurs.
But this policy failed, as so far only 19 projects have been completed and a whopping 191 are still carrying out groundwork and seeking extensions.
