Final allotment of hydel projects soon: CM

Despite renewed controversy over the self-identified hydel projects, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said the final allotment would be done shortly.

Nishank’s comments came soon after the government initiated action against Ratan Singh Gunsola, a private developer, who alleged that he had paid Rs 1 crore to the BJP party funds to bag hydel projects under the self-identified route, the tenders for which were invited in 2008. In February, the government had quietly allotted a total of 56 small projects having capacity to generate 960-Mw.

However, the issue snowballed into a major controversy with the Opposition parties claiming most of the projects were allotted to some liquor companies and unknown individuals and they called for a CBI probe into the allotment process. Since then, the government was going slow on the issue.

Despite coming under attack from various quarters, Nishank, however, denied reports of any irregularities and maintained that the final allotment had not been made so far. “We have received 23 objections. A committee under the power secretary has been constituted to make the final allotment,” said Nishank.