ITANAGAR, 12 Aug: The central and the state governments have come together to execute 12 stalled hydroelectric projects (HEP) in Arunachal Pradesh.
Memorandums of agreement (MoA) in this regard were signed here on Saturday. Twelve hydroelectric projects of a cumulative installed capacity of about 11,523 MW have been allotted by the state government to hydro PSUs under the union power ministry.
The MoA signing ceremony was attended by union Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister RK Singh, Chief Minister Pema Khandu, Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein, and officials of the central and state governments.
Addressing the event, the union minister said that implementation of these hydropower projects would contribute immensely to the richness of the state.
“The per capita income of the state will become more than that of Maharashtra and Gujarat. All the developed nations, including the USA, Canada, Norway etc, have harnessed 80%-90% of their hydropower potential. In India also, the states which harnessed the potential of hydropower have become prosperous. Hydropower is a green source of energy.
Its usage will also increase the ground water level and promote growth of flora and fauna,” he said.
Singh added that the signing of the MoAs and allotment of the projects to CPSUs “shall prove to be a significant step towards harnessing the immense hydroelectric potential of Arunachal Pradesh.”
Out of the 12 projects, five projects (2,626 MW) have been allocated by the state government to the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Ltd (NEEPCO), five projects (5,097 MW) to the Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN), and the remaining two projects (3,800 MW) to the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC).
While the Tato-II HEP (700 MW), the Tato-I HEP (186 MW), the Heo HEP (240 MW), the Naying HEP (1,000 MW) and the Hirong HEP (500 MW) have been allotted to the NEEPCO, the Etalin HEP (3,097 MW), the Attunli HEP (680 MW), the Emini HEP (500 MW), the Amulin HEP (420 MW) and the Mihumdon HEP (400 MW) have been given to the SJVN.
The Subansiri Upper HEP (2,000 MW) and the Subansiri Middle (Kamala) HEP (1,800 MW) have been allotted to the NHPC.
These projects had earlier been allocated to private sector developers about 15 years ago, but they remained non-starters due to various reasons. The state government, therefore, decided to rope in central hydro PSUs to give a push to the languishing projects.
Development of these projects will contribute towards achieving the declared nationally determined contribution (NDC) target of achieving 500 GW non-fossil energy capacity of India by 2030.
Hydropower will also be an effective contributor to the objective of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2070.
These projects are also expected to create huge employment opportunities in the region and boost the local economy as well as foster skill development and technical expertise.
The projects are expected to result in an estimated investment inflow of about Rs 1,26,500 crore to Arunachal.
