Himachal Pradesh, with a power generation potential of about 27,000 MW, has accorded approval to 167 hydroelectric projects in four years.
During this period, 31 projects aggregating to 2,067 Megawatt capacity were commissioned, including 800 MW Kol Dam, 412 MW Rampur, 130 MW Kashang and 520 MW Parbati projects, said an official spokesman.
Of the 27,000 MW power potential in Himachal, 10,400 MW has been tapped so far, he said.
The Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board ltd has started execution of at least 22 projects totalling 300 MW capacity. To start with, an 18 MW project will be executed at Raisan in Kullu district on a pilot basis. The World Bank will provide funding for it, he said.
The spokesman said that the State Government has taken various steps for proper rehabilitation of the project affected families and a provision for generation of revenue out of sale of 1 per cent additional free power payable after commissioning of the projects has been made so that the revenue generated could be directly transferred to the project affected families.
The State Government has successfully implemented this scheme, first of its kind in the country. So far, about Rs 6.74 crore has been transferred to the eligible families since 2012-13. The Government is also providing 100 unit free electricity as incentive to project affected families, he said.
Himachal has realised revenue of Rs 3,345 crore by way of sale of free and equity power during this tenure and efforts are being made to involve global players in this field so that the identified hydel potential could be exploited in a time bound manner, said the spokesman.
He further said that the State Government has also taken major decisions towards easing out the policy provisions to facilitate investors to overcome the bottlenecks being faced in implementation of projects.
A new mechanism has been evolved to obtain various clearances at district level in a time bound manner. The developers have been facilitated to submit their applications to the concerned Deputy Commissioners instead of applying to various district level offices for obtaining different clearances, he said. Keeping in view the emergent need for ensuring safety and quality control in hydro power projects, the State Government has created a safety and quality control authority under the aegis of Directorate of Energy. Mandatory procedural guidelines for dam safety and operational procedures have been enforced with specific codes and standards practices being followed worldwide, he said.
He added that the Himachal Government has also simplified the procedure for obtaining techno-clearance and the Directorate of Energy has been authorised to lay down procedure and issuance of technical concurrence to the projects comprising the cost less than Rs 1,000 crore.