NHPC Seeks Lenience for Kotli Bhel Projects

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources India (Delhi, India)--In an attempt to revive its beleaguered hydroelectric ventures in Uttarakhand, India's state-owned hydropower enterprise NHPC Limited (BSE:533098) (Faridabad, Haryana) has now called on the country's Ministry of Power (MoP) to seek approval from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), which has declined permission for the use of forest land needed for the construction of three hydroelectric projects.

The Kotli Bhel projects are run-of-river schemes, envisaged to be developed on the Ganges River and its tributaries in the Pauri and Tehri Garhwal districts of Uttarakhand. The execution of the projects has suffered inordinate delays pending forest clearance from the ministry. The Kotli Bhel projects involve cascade development for three hydroelectric projects: the 195-megawatt (MW) Kotli Bhel Stage I-A; the 320-MW Kotli Bhel Stage I-B; and the 530-MW Kotli Bhel Stage II.

In the absence of the requisite statutory clearance, NHPC has been unable to obtain capital approval for the projects from the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA). The hydroelectric major has now requested the Ministry to expeditiously issue the clearance so that it can initiate development work at the proposed project sites.

Although the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the MoEF recently recommended Kotli Bhel Stage I-A be granted clearance for the use of 258.74 hectares of forest land, the final clearance has yet to be accorded by the Ministry.

With an installed generation capacity of 5,295 MW, NHPC is India's largest hydropower utility. The company is currently pursuing clearances from the government of India for several hydropower projects with an aggregate capacity of 9,651 MW. Out of these, seven projects with an aggregate capacity of 5,965 MW are planned to be implemented by NHPC on its own, while other projects are planned for execution through joint ventures.

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