Arunachal Pradesh Reviews 13 Hydropower Projects

Itanagar, Sep 3 (PTI) Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Tuesday reviewed the status of 13 hydropower projects, memorandums of agreement (MoAs) for which were signed on August 12 last year.

These projects were allotted to various central public sector undertakings (CPSUs).

Khandu chaired the sixth steering committee meeting to review and monitor the progress of the 13 projects allotted to National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC), North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Limited (NEEPCO), Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) and THDC India Ltd.

The chief minister focused on issues such as early land acquisition, forest, techno-economic and environmental clearances, an official said.

“Assessed the progress of 13 power projects with key PSUs - NHPC Ltd, SJVN Ltd, NEEPCO, and THDC India Ltd, whose combined investment in our state exceeds Rs 1 lakh crore,” Khandu posted in X after the meeting.

During the meeting he assured all possible support and cooperation of the government for fast-tracking the projects, the official said.

He directed all departments concerned and deputy commissioners of various districts to ensure that there is no delay in expediting the necessary tasks required for clearances.

“Hydropower is vital for our state's revenue, employment, and economic opportunities. We must ensure that all projects move forward swiftly and efficiently,” Khandu said on the micro-blogging site.

The meeting, which was held to resolve the critical issues faced by the 13 projects in the state, was attended by NHPC Chairman and Managing Director Raj Kumar Chaudhary, SJVN Ltd CMD Sushil Sharma and union joint secretary (Hydropower) Mohammad Afzal among others.

The state government, last year, inked memorandums of agreement (MoAs) with four central public sector undertakings (CPSUs) for the development of 13 stalled hydro projects in the northeastern state.

Of them, five projects with an installed capacity of 2,626 MW have been allocated to NEEPCO, five others with 5,097 MW capacity awarded to (SJVN) and two plants of 3,800 MW to NHPC and one of 1,200 MW to THDC.

An estimated investment of Rs 1,42,000 crore will be made in executing the projects in the state, the official said.

The projects with a total installed capacity of 11,517 MW were initially allotted to independent power developers but remained stalled due to various reasons.