Decks cleared for Rs. 4,131cr hydro power project

Chamoli : The Union Environment Ministry in a recent decision has cleared 444mw Vishnugad-Pipalkoti hydro power project located in the Chamoli district of Uttrakhand and is being developed by the THDC India Limited at an investment of Rs. 4,131cr. With the environmental clearance has been put in place the project has become a clear cut case for the World Bank to provide 70 percent funding to the project. The mage hydro project, which was scheduled for commissioning by 2013, is located on the Alaknanda, a Ganga tributary with four units of 111mw each and was held up due to multiple environmental hiccups.

Available reports indicated that the project will be the most expensive of its kind to be financed by the World Bank and also first to be cleared under the strict Indian environmental norms already in place for the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi river basins. That apart, it is perhaps the first hydro project to be cleared by incorporating the environment ministry's new approach ensuring economic growth by strictly adhering to ecological concerns. Most probably loan for the project will be approved very shortly as the company has reached a crucial milestone in the acquisition of the forest land after incorporating certain amendments to the original plan, Chairman and Managing Director THDC, R S T Sai said, adding that the World Bank had earlier provided assistance worth $400 million to the 412mw hydroelectric project, which is being developed by the SJVN Limited on the Sutlej river in the Rampur district of Himachal Pradesh.