West Bengal for role in Bhutan hydro projects

The West Bengal government has sought permission from the Centre to take part in construction of hydro projects in neighbouring country Bhutan.

The state wants its power distribution company, West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Co Ltd (WBSEDCL), be given permission to take up hydro projects in Bhutan.

Till now, only the Central government’s NHPC has been allowed to take part in building hydro projects in the neighbouring country.

While inaugurating a day-long workshop on hydro power development here today, state power minister Manish Gupta said WBSEDCL had enough expertise and over the years it had successfully built a number of hydro projects and been running them smoothly. So the Union government should allow WBSEDCL to take part in the development of hydro projects in Bhutan, he said.

Earlier, Sunil Mitra, the former Union revenue secretary, had urged for the same. The chairman of the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), A N Bakshi, responded positively, saying CEA was willing to back up West Bengal’s claim once it applied for such permission.

According to Gupta, state would like to take charge of construction of some hydro projects in Bhutan, and does not want to enter into any joint venture with NHPC. Gupta reiterated the state’s claim the Centre must constitute a coal regulatory body in the line of the electricity regulatory auhtority to keep a tab on the coal price in a structured manner.