Delayed hydropower projects push up costs by over Rs 30,000 crore

A typical project is delayed by years after they first seek to begin work

Seven projects faced a cumulative cost overrun of Rs 31,884 crore as of March 2023, according to a Business Standard analysis of data from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation monthly reports.

This includes the Subansiri Lower project in Arunachal Pradesh (Rs 14,962.2 crore cost overrun), Himachal Pradesh’s Parbati project (Rs 7,215 crore) and Tapovan-Vishnugad (Rs 4,124.5 crore) in Uttarakhand. The data covered projects of Rs 150 crore or more (chart 1).

The government has recently sought to ease the way for increased use of hydroelectric power, with a lower burden of environmental clearances for certain kinds