U'khand initiates bidding process of allotting small hydel projects

Nainital High Court had in 2011 upheld government's decision to cancel allotment of 56 hydel projects

More three years after the cancellation of 56 small hydel projects under the self-identified scheme following an alleged scandal in the allotment process, the Uttarakhand government has initiated the bidding process of all those projects where there are no legal, environmental and religious hurdles.

Soon after the Nainital High Court had in 2011 upheld the government’s decision to cancel the allotment of 56 hydel projects, some of the companies had approached the Supreme Court against the move stating the government’s action was arbitrary. The case is still pending before the Apex Court, confirmed additional power secretary M C Joshi.

But the government has already started the bidding process of all those small projects (upto 25 Mw) where the companies did not approach the Supreme Court and cumulative impact assessment (CIA) of some rivers has already been completed under the order of the High Court. “We are in the process of allotting all those projects where there is no hurdle of any kind and CIA has been done,” said a top government official.

In this regard, the government is all set to start the bidding process of 5 small hydel projects in the first phase with a capacity of 80-90 Mw shortly in rivers like Ramganga, Saryu, Tons and Yamuna where the CIA has been completed. After this, the government would put more such projects on the block. Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna has also issued directions in this regard.

The demand for energy in Uttarakhand where hydropower is considered to be one of the key growth drivers is growing fast owing to rapid industrialization in the hill state in the past. But after the cancellation of 56 projects and also scrapping of 3 big projects like NTPC’s 600 Mw Loharinag Pala in 2010 in the wake of heightened environmental and religious concerns from various quarters, the hydropower sector has taken a beating with the government unable to commission any more project.

Soon after canceling the 56 projects, the government had returned the premium money of over Rs 32 crore to all the companies. The government had charged a premium of Rs 5 lakh per Mw on the 56 projects with a total capacity of over 963 Mw.

While cancelling the projects, the government had said the Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (UJVNL), which was the nodal agency for the bidding process, has been asked again to modify the advertisement of July 25, 2008 for inviting fresh bids for the self-identified projects. On the other hand, the High Court called for CIA of various rivers in the state.

 Under the 2008 power policy, the government had received 741 bids for setting up hydel projects upto 25 Mw. In the beginning of 2009, the government quietly allotted 56 hydel projects. Few months later, the government abruptly cancelled the entire allotment process following the alleged scandal, an issue which had rocked the state when BJP was in power. The issue is being probed by a commission of inquiry set up by the Congress government. The report in this regard is still awaited.