Fate of U'khand hydel projects hinges on Ganga basin authority

Hopes of revival of the controversial hydel projects on the Bhagirathi have rekindled after the Centre convened the first meeting of the Ganga River Basin Authority (GRBA) in New Delhi on October 5, which has been entrusted with the task to decide their fate.

Three major hydel projects — 600-Mw Lohari Nagpala, 480-Mw Pala Maneri and 381-Mw Bhaironghati — have been suspended under the pressure of environmentalists and VHP leaders by the Centre and the state government.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would chair the meeting of the GRBA on October 5, which is likely to take up the Bhagirathi issue where a series of hydel projects have been proposed. Chief Minister Ramesh P Nishank may also participate in the meeting, official sources said here today.

While NTPC’s Lohari Nagpala, which is being built at Uttarkashi district with an investment of Rs 2,800 crore, was at a very advance stage, the state-run Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd (UJVNL) had also done considerable work on Pala Maneri and Bhaironghati.

NTPC had already invested Rs 500 crore in the Lohari Nagpala project and UJVNL Rs 100 crore in the Pala Maneri project. Just before the GRBA meeting, Union Power Secretary Bhrama Reddy may also visit Lohari Nagpala project to take stock of the situation. A separate meeting of the Union power ministry has also been convened on October 1 in this regard.

The meeting came after a series of protests by social activist G D Agrawal and Sangh Parivar outfits against the construction of hydel projects on the Bhagirathi river. They are calling for a blanket ban on these projects.

But in May, the Uttarakhand High Court entrusted the responsibility of these projects to the GRBA that was set up early this year by the Prime Minister, who also declared the Ganga as the national river.

“The Prime Minister must take a positive decision on the issue of Bhagirathi,” said Avadhash Kaushal, whose NGO had fought a legal battle for the revival of these projects.

Uttarakhand Principal Power Secretary Shatrughan Singh said the state government was also very positive on reviving these hydel projects.