No Green Clearance in Sight for NHPC's Kotli Bhel Projects

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources India (New Delhi, India)--Uncertainty continues to loom over NHPC Limited's (BSE:533098) (Faridabad, Haryana) Kotli Bhel projects, as the hydropower major is unlikely to obtain the much-need permission from the Ministry of Environment and Forests, anytime soon, for the diversion of forest land needed for construction of the 320-megawatt (MW) Kotli Bhel I-B and 530-MW Kotli Bhel II hydroelectric projects.

Although NHPC has succeeded in the past in convincing the ministry to change its stance in case of the 195-MW Kotli Bhel I-A, but this time, the ministry is not lenient enough to grant the clearance for the two other Kotli Bhel projects. The Kotli Bhel projects are run-of-the-river schemes involving cascade development of three hydroelectric projects on the river Ganga and its tributaries in the Pauri and Tehri Garhwal districts of Uttrakhand state.

The execution of the Kotli Bhel projects has been held up due to non-availability of a forest clearance. In June 2011, the ministry declined to give a forest clearance for these projects. In the absence of the requisite statutory clearance, NHPC has not been able to obtain the capital approval from the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs for these projects.

NHPC acquired Techno Economic Clearances for the three projects from the Central Electricity Authority (New Delhi, India) in 2006. The hydropower utility later signed implementation agreements for these hydroelectric schemes with the state of Uttrakhand in June 2008. So far, only Kotli Bhel I-A could see the light of the day after the grant of the forest clearance last year.

With an installed generation capacity of 5,526 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. 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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