Uttarakhand, HP sign pact for Rs 10k cr Kishau project

Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh on Saturday signed an agreement for the Rs 10,000 crore multi-purpose Kishau hydroelectric project to generate 660 Mw of power. The agreement comes at a time when hydroelectric dams in the hills are being questioned after the 2013 Kedarnath deluge.

A memorandum of understanding was signed here by the power secretaries of both states in the presence of Chief Minister Harish Rawat for the project in Dehradun district on the Tons river, a tributary of the Yamuna that shares its banks with both hill states. Besides generating power, the project will provide drinking water and irrigate land in Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The power from the project will be shared equally by the two states.

The Centre has already decided to bear the 90 per cent of the Rs 10,000 crore cost of the project and has asked the two states to form a joint venture company. "Himachal and Uttarakhand are like two brothers who will always walk together on the path of development," said Rawat after the signing of the agreement.

Uttarakhand has agreed to provide Himachal Pradesh 50 per cent share of the power that is likely to be enhanced in downstream Yamuna hydroelectric projects. Himachal Pradesh now receives 25 per cent power as royalty from these downstream projects like Chhibro, Khodri and Kulhal situated on its border.

After scores of hydel projects were either scrapped, suspended or faced litigation over environmental concerns, the Uttarakhand government has been focusing on the uncontroversial Kishau and 300 Mw Lakhwar projects.

The height of the Kishau dam will be 236 meters. The power project is likely to irrigate 97,076 hectares of land, provide 1,324 million cubic meters of drinking water and produce 1,379 million units of electricity.