Centre gives nod for 660-Mw Kishau dam

After a delay of over forty years, work may finally begin on the proposed 660-megawatt (Mw) Kishau dam hydro-electric and irrigation project, which is to be built jointly by Himachal Pradesh and Uttrakhand, said officials. The Centre earlier this week gave its consent to the two states to build this project on Tons, a major tributary of Yamuna river.

The project has already been declared a national project, and will cost Rs 10,500 crore. At least 90 per cent of the funding will be carried out by the Centre as a grant.

The hydro-electric cum irrigation project will be jointly owned by Himachal Pradesh and Uttrakhand (on a 50-50 basis), said officials.The project will be built in Uttrakhand, but will submerge a large area of Himachal upstream.

 

It remains to be seen if the two states build it themselves or hand over the construction job to public sector companies such as Satlej Jal Vidyut Nigam, which is keen on the project.

According to the latest detailed project report, the project will have a 680 metre long and 236 metre high concrete gravity dam, some 45 km upstream of Dak Pathar. Around 2,950 hectares of land will be submerged both the states.