Sikkim govt returns two hydel projects to the developers

Months after scrapping its agreement with private developers for construction of 11 projects for delay in commencement of work, the state has finally relented and returned two of the projects to the original developers, an official said today.     

The state government has re-issued letter of intent to Madhya Bharat Power Corporation for construction of 96 Mw hydel project at Rongnichu after the developer withdrew its litigation in the High Court challenging the scrapping of the project, Power-cum-Energy department secretary Pema Wangchen told PTI here.     

The letter of intent to another developer - Gati Infrastructure Ltd — would also be issued soon for construction of 51 Mw Bhasmey Hydel project, which too was scrapped in June last, he said.    

On the status of other nine scrapped hydel projects, he said that the state would review each case on merit.     
The state government had scrapped its agreement with the private developers for construction of 11 hydel projects charging the them with delay in the work.       

One of the developers - Madhya Bharat Power Corporation - had moved the Sikkim High Court challenging the termination of its projects, which had prompted the state government to set up a review committee in the matter.