Srinagar, Dec 28: In next five years, the National Hydel Power Corporation is going to commission more than 2,000 megawatt power projects in Jammu and Kashmir while as the state’s own power generation corporation, JK Power Development Corporation, is not going to commission more than 10 megawatt projects.
The estimated power potential of the State is 20,000 MWs out of which 16480 MWs have been identified. Out of the 16480 MWs, the state government is going to generate only peanuts, rest goes to the NHPC- a government of India enterprise.
Presently the NHPC is running seven projects: Salal (690 MWs), Tpur (94 MWs), Chemera-I (540 MWs), Chemera-II (300 MWs), Uri (480 MWs), Dhauliganga (280 MWs), Dulhasti (390 MWs).
There are six projects of NHPC which are under construction. They are 240 MWs Uri-II in Jehlum basin, 120 MWs Sewa-II in Chenab basin, 45 MWs Nimo Bazgo in Sindh, 44 MWs Chutak in Sindh, 330 MWs Kishanganga, 1020 MWs Bursar.
In contrast, four projects under the state sector- Pahalgam-III unit (1.50 MW) in Jehlum, Machil (0.35 MW) in Jehlum, Sanjak (1.26 MW) in Indus and Baderwah-III unit (0.5 MW) in Chenab are under construction. The four projects of 3.61 MWs are likely to be completed in next five years even though their expected date of commissioning had been set as 2009. The work on 3.0 MWs Hanu and 3.0 MWs Dah in Indus has not been started yet.
The state government has also taken up big projects but on paper only, like Parnal 37.5 MWs in Jehlum, New Ganderbal 93 MWs in Jehlum, Kirthai-I 240 MWs in Chenab, Baglihar-II 450 MWs in Chenab, Lower Kalnai 50 MWs in Chenab, Sawalakote 1200 MWs in Chenab, Rattle 690 MWs in Chenab. But on none of these projects work has been started.
Interestingly, the work on New Ganderbal, Parnal, Ratle, Swalkote I and II is pending for decades together.
On May 26, 2009, in a meeting of Board of Directors of JKPDC headed by the Chief Minister the officials proposed that they were interested in reworking the completion date of these projects. The Chief Minister is understood to have set 2013 as target for New Ganderbal, Kirthai-I, Ratle, Parnai and 2016 for Kirthai-II.
New Ganderbal, Kiru, 520 MWsKawar project (now taken under joint venture company of Chenab Development Corporation), Ratle and other projects were identified and declared viable in early ’80s. Even DPRs had been prepared for most of the projects but except for reworking their completion time, the successive regimes have not moved beyond.
Sources said when the New Ganderbal project was conceived its estimated cost was fixed at Rs 200 crores. Presently the cost has escalated to Rs 686 crores but not a single step has been taken for starting work on it, they added.
Other projects have also met with the same fate. The cost of Kirthai, Kiru, Kawar has escalated by two to three times to Rs 1510 crores, Rs 2381.90 crores, Rs 3386.12 crores respectively even when the projects are yet to be taken up.
Besides, the court has stayed the work on Swalkote I and II. The project cost has already escalated to Rs 7000 crores.

Lastupdate on : Mon, 28 Dec 2009 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 28 Dec 2009 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 IST