The Centre has agreed to contribute Rs. 10 crore for the preliminary works of Pancheshwar Development Authority (PDA) involving India and Nepal.
Replying to a question in Rajya Sabha yesterday, which was released today, Minister of State for Water Resources Sanwar Lal Jat said that it has been agreed to have a corpus fund of Rs. 20 crore with both India and Nepal contributing Rs. 10 crore each for preliminary works of PDA.
India and Nepal have agreed to expedite the Pancheshwar Multipurpose Development Project, pending for 17 years, which has the capacity to generate 6,720 MW of hydropower along with increased irrigation facilities.
The project on the Mahakali river is seen as a landmark development in Nepal-India cooperation in hydropower sector.
The first meeting of the governing body of PDA was held in September this year.
During the meeting the two sides had agreed to establish a corpus fund for PDA for its initial activities totalling Rs 20 crores or to be shared equally by the two sides. The corpus fund will be a part of the total project cost.
