PowerMin asks NHPC to speed up projects to achieve targets

The Power Ministry is conducting review meetings with the company officials asking reasons for delay in execution of its hydro power projects mainly --  800 MW Parbati-II (Himachal Pradesh), and 2,000 MW Lower Subansiri (Arunachal Pradesh).

Work on these projects has been stalled due to environment related issues, sources in the know said. "The NHPC did not get permit to work on these projects due to environment issues and local objections," a power ministry official said.

In West Bengal, protests by the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha have hampered the work on Teesta Low Dam III (130 MW) and IV (160 MW). Geological issues have also hit NHPC's 231 MW Chamera-III in Himachal Pradesh. Law and order problems in Jammu & Kashmir have adversely impacted work on the company's three projects in the state.

"Due to unrest in the Kashmir valley three projects have been delayed," the official added. NHPC is constructing Uri-II with a capacity of 240 MW, Nimmo Bazgo (45 MW) and Chutak (44 MW) in J&K.

Due to violence, these projects have suffered significant loss of time and thus have been delayed. NHPC was earlier scheduled to commission these three power projects during the current XIth Five-Year Plan (2007-12) but now these projects are likely to miss their commissioning schedule.

NHPC, which has an installed capacity of over 4,000 MW plans to ramp up this capacity to over 10,000 MW by the end of the current XIth Five Year Plan (2007-2012).
If these hurdles continue to disturb the progress of these hydro projects, capacity addition under the stipulated time frame seems unlikely. Government plans to add 62,000 MW of electricity by the end of the current plan period.