NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday launched multiple hydel projects worth a combined investment of Rs 11,000 crore in Himachal Pradesh, including one to ease Delhi’s water woes, which was hanging fire for three decades.
The largest among the projects is the Rs 7,000-crore Renuak dam project, which will also incorporate a storage-based 40 megawatt (MW) hydel unit, on Giri river — one of Yamuna’s tributaries — in Sirmour district.
The project failed to take off for nearly 30 years after it was conceptualised due to differences over sharing of water and costs among Himachal, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Delhi. Once completed, the project will boost Delhi’s annual water supply by 500 million cubic metres.
As per an agreement signed in January 2019, the Delhi government has agreed to bear 90% cost of the power component of the project and balance 10% is to be borne by Himachal.
The project has been given the status of a national project, which envisages the Centre will bear the 90% cost of the dam (water) component, while the balance is to be shared by all basin states in the ratio of allocation of water as per MoU of 1994.
The next big project to be launched was the Rs 1,800-crore Luhri Stage-I on Satluj river with a generating capacity of 210 MW estimated to pump out 758 million units of electricity per year. The project will help stabilise the northern grid and also add to Delhi’s supply.
The PM also dedicated to the nation the Rs 2,080-crore Sawra-Kuddu hydel project with a 111 MW capacity, which is estimated to produce 380 million units of electricity per year and help the state earn annual revenue of Rs 120 crore.
Another project to be launched was the Dhaulasidh project, the first hydel project in Hamirpur district. The 66 MW project will be built at a cost of over Rs 680 crore and lead to generation of over 300 million units of electricity per year.
These projects are part of the Centre’s plan to develop 26,000 MW of hydropower projects by 2030 with an aim of taking the tally of green power’s share in the overall supply to 50% by then. More than 9,000 MW of large hydropower projects are under construction at present.
As of March last year, India’s installed utility-scale hydroelectric capacity was 46,000 MW, or 12.3% of the country’s total utility power generation capacity.
The largest among the projects is the Rs 7,000-crore Renuak dam project, which will also incorporate a storage-based 40 megawatt (MW) hydel unit, on Giri river — one of Yamuna’s tributaries — in Sirmour district.
The project failed to take off for nearly 30 years after it was conceptualised due to differences over sharing of water and costs among Himachal, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Delhi. Once completed, the project will boost Delhi’s annual water supply by 500 million cubic metres.
As per an agreement signed in January 2019, the Delhi government has agreed to bear 90% cost of the power component of the project and balance 10% is to be borne by Himachal.
The project has been given the status of a national project, which envisages the Centre will bear the 90% cost of the dam (water) component, while the balance is to be shared by all basin states in the ratio of allocation of water as per MoU of 1994.
The next big project to be launched was the Rs 1,800-crore Luhri Stage-I on Satluj river with a generating capacity of 210 MW estimated to pump out 758 million units of electricity per year. The project will help stabilise the northern grid and also add to Delhi’s supply.
The PM also dedicated to the nation the Rs 2,080-crore Sawra-Kuddu hydel project with a 111 MW capacity, which is estimated to produce 380 million units of electricity per year and help the state earn annual revenue of Rs 120 crore.
Another project to be launched was the Dhaulasidh project, the first hydel project in Hamirpur district. The 66 MW project will be built at a cost of over Rs 680 crore and lead to generation of over 300 million units of electricity per year.
These projects are part of the Centre’s plan to develop 26,000 MW of hydropower projects by 2030 with an aim of taking the tally of green power’s share in the overall supply to 50% by then. More than 9,000 MW of large hydropower projects are under construction at present.
As of March last year, India’s installed utility-scale hydroelectric capacity was 46,000 MW, or 12.3% of the country’s total utility power generation capacity.
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