Par panel suggests task force to push mini hydro power plants

Expressing concerns over gaps in implementation of mini hydro projects of up to 2 MW capacity, a Parliamentary panel has asked the government to appoint a task force to resolve issues and give a push to these plants.
"Mini hydro (from 101 KW to 2 MW) projects momentum got lost in the so called mini power projects scam/ non-transparency which got attracted in major regions like Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim," the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Energy observed.
It recommended that government may appoint a task force/committee to have an action plan also with time bound programme to settle down issues of mini hydro projects.

The committee further said that priority may be given to mini hydro power projects which are being planned to take up on the river/dam back water.
It was of the view that there is need to give greater importance/priority to mini/small hydro power projects.
Noting that the small hydro power sector is primarily private investment driven and projects are allocated by the states for implementation, the panel recommended that steps should be taken to attract more investment in the small hydro power sector from private entrepreneurs and states.

It further said that the incentive scheme for the sector should be made more attractive involving single window clearances for such projects, identification of sites, preparation of DPRs, obtaining of clearances, survey and investigation etch should be a pre-requisite before allocation of such projects to an interested developers.

It also suggested public private partnership for such projects.
The committee observed that the potential of power generation from small hydro (up to 25 MW) is 19,749 MW from 6,474 sites while the cumulative capacity of 4,146.905 MW was set up at 1,047 sites as on August 31, 2015 and projects of 591.71 MW are in various stages of implementation.
It noted that the development of small hydro potential in the country has been less than satisfactory and by the end of 12 Plan (March 2017), it will only be 23 per cent of identified potential.
It suggested that the ministry should come out with a concrete plan of action to expedite huge untapped potential of small hydro power at a faster pace in a time bound manner.