Uttarakhand favours 4 cumax of water flow in Bhagirathi

The Uttarakhand government has told a high-powered committee that four cumax of water flow would be sufficient to maintain perennial flow of the Bhagirathi in Uttarkhand where three key hydropower projects have been suspended on environmental and religious grounds.

“We have told the committee members that four cumax of water flow is scientifically sufficient as far as Bhagirathi is concerned,” said state power adviser Yogendra Prasad. However, an NTPC expert committee had opined early this year to maintain 16 cumax of water in the river, for which Prasad claimed there was no scientific basis.

Prasad said releasing more water in the river would affect the viability of all the hydropower projects.

Meanwhile, the Centre is unlikely to take a decision on the question of revival of suspended projects before the culmination of the Maha Kumbh at Haridwar next year. “We are not expecting any decision on the suspended projects before the fair,” said a top government official.

This means that all the three projects, which were suspended last year, would face a cost escalation of eight to 10 percent per year, experts said.

The centre last week sent the high-powered committee to assess various issues concerning the revival of the suspended projects on river Bhagirathi in Uttarakhand. The committee was led by Union Power Secretary H S Brahma and Union Secretary for Environment and Forests Vijay Sharma.

The two officials visited some of the project sites on Bhagirathi and also held talks with a cross section of people to ascertain their views. Sharma also held an open public hearing in this regard.

Last month, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held a meeting of the Ganga River Basin Authority (GRBA) to decide on the fate of NTPC’s 600 Mw Lahori Nagpala , 480 Mw Pala Maneri and 380 Mw Bhaironghati projects.

While NTPC’s Lohari Nagpala, which is being built in Uttarkashi district with an investment of Rs 2,500-3,000 crore, was at a very advance stage, the state-run Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (UJVNL) had also done considerable work on the Pala Maneri and Bhaironghati projects. NTPC had already invested Rs 550 crore in the Lohari Nagpala project and UJVNL Rs 100 crore in the Pala Maneri project.