'Only 66 pc of 11th Plan hydel capacity target will be met'

"The committee is astonished at the fact that one-third capacity addition of the 11th Plan in the hydro sector is slipping from the programme," a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Energy observed in its report tabled in the Lok Sabha.

According to the committee's estimates, 5,322 MW of capacity addition envisaged under the 11th Plan is unlikely to be commissioned before the Plan period expires in March, 2012.

The hydro power projects that are likely to miss the original target of the 11th Plan include state-owned NHPC's 2,000-MW Subansiri project in Arunachal Pradesh and the 800-MW Parbati project in Himachal Pradesh.

The government has set a target for adding over 15,000 MW of hydel power capacity during the current Plan.

Talking about the Power Ministry's plans to add over 20,000 MW of power generation capacity in the 12th Plan, the committee recommended that "keeping in view the performance of 11th plan, detailed

project reports should be prepared for the hydro projects, scrupulously avoiding the factors responsible for the poor performance during the 11th Plan."

The current hydro power generation capacity of the country is 37,000 MW, which is over 24 per cent of the total installed electricity generation capacity.