Centre to revive hydro projects

Two officials aware of the developments said tripartite agreements will be soon be signed between the public sector units, the government of Arunachal Pradesh and the independent power developers that were originally awarded the projects.

The plan is to take over the stalled projects and allow an exit for the companies which have made an investment and want their money back, through a litigation-free settlement, they said.

“For the last 10-15 years, there has been no progress at all, so there was suffering on the hydro side. In some cases private parties have invested some money…prepared the detailed project report or took up some other development. They would want to exit, but would also like to get back the money they spent,” said one of the two officials.

“Ten such major sites have been identified for tripartite agreements. The CPSE, such as NHPC or NEEPCO, will pay the money to the original developer to whom it was allotted and the latter will exit,” the official added. Some of the projects being considered for takeover by a public sector hydro power major are Kalai-1, Tato-1 and Tato-2.

Another official said the expenditure incurred by the original developer would be evaluated by a committee of the power ministry.

Further, the state government is also looking at taking over the projects where no investment has been made, which will later be transferred to PSUs. “Around 100 projects in the state are under the scanner, and the projects will be taken up for resolution in a phased manner,” the official added.

Queries sent to the union ministry of power and the department of power, government of Arunachal Pradesh remained unanswered till press time.

In March this year, Chowna Mein, the deputy chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh informed the state legislative assembly that the state government has terminated 44 agreements with private power developers.

This assumes importance given China’s 14th five-year plan proposing building a massive dam over the Brahmaputra river, known in China as the Yarlung Tsangpo, a development that has raised concerns in India because of the strategic ramifications.

Recent India-China clashes after Chinese incursion in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh has worsened ties.

In a bid to strengthen its the hydro infrastructure in the strategic state, the Centre has accelerated efforts to both revive stalled projects and build new dams.