RTI reveals stalled power projects owing to delay in getting NOC
28 Apr, 2013The Industries Minister of Himachal Pradesh had stated in the budget session of the legislative assembly that hydro power projects of 5MW and below would be referred to a single window committee headed by the Chief Minister for one time final clearance so as to expedite the process of power generation in the state.
However, the reply to an application filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act has revealed that a total of 433 hydro power projects, of capacity 5 MW or less, are waiting for getting clearances from various departments. The reply, provided by the Himachal Pradesh Energy Development Agency-HIMURJA, stated that out of these 433 projects, allotted time period for 276 projects has already been surpassed while the remaining 157, though within the time period, are still waiting for the NOCs.
Himachal Pradesh has been able to harness 8,375 MW hydro power out of the total potential of 27,436 MW as per the revised estimates of the government. The Industries Ministers said that the hydro power attracted investment of Rs. 13,000 crore against the expected Rs. 48,000 crore mainly because of delayed clearances.