Himachal CM opens state-run hydro plant

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh Friday inaugurated state-run 10 MW Ghanvi (stage II) hydropower project in Shimla district, which will annually generate revenue of Rs.12 crore, a statement said.

The project was commissioned by the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Ltd at Ghanvi rivulet, a tributary of the Satluj river, in Pandra Beesh area of Rampur tehsil.

The project has been constructed at a cost of Rs.173 crore and would generate about 56 million unit of power every year, said an official statement.

The chief minister said the Pandra Beesh area was the one of the areas where all the development was due to the successive Congress governments.

He said he himself had travelled into the entire area. He announced to set up a community health centre at Ghanvi.

Both Ghanvi stage I and stage II will now generate 32.5 MW of electricity.

Earlier, the chief minister inaugurated a government senior school building at Jhakri constructed at a cost of Rs.70 Lakh by state-run hydropower major Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd (SJVNL).

Himachal Pradesh's hydropower generation potential is 23,000 MW - about 25 percent of country's total hydropower potential. However, only 8,432 MW of power has been tapped so far, which is 36 percent of the total potential.