NTPC's Himachal dam project gets green nod

The National Thermal Power Corporation's (NTPC) 800 MW Kol Dam project on the Satluj river in Himachal Pradesh was Thursday given clearance by the environment ministry, officials said.

The Rs.4,527 crore hydro power project, which seeks diversion of 124 hectares of forest land from the Majathal Wildlife Sanctuary, was cleared at the meeting of the Standing Committee on National Wildlife Board.

The project in Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh was earlier rejected by the board on the condition that thousands of trees would be submerged due to the construction and storage facility and it would also endanger the sanctuary, home to the endangered Cheer pheasant.

NTPC would now have to approach the Supreme Court for final approval.

"The project has been cleared with several stringent conditions that company would have to meet," an official said.

Once operational, the project will provide power to Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Chandigarh.