Srinagar- Jammu and Kashmir is expected to receive an incremental hydro power capacity of approximately 7,000 MW in a phased manner in the next 8 to 10 years. This statement was made by the Minister of Power and New Renewable Energy, R.K. Singh, in response to a question in the Rajya Sabha regarding the power crisis in the Union Territory.
The question was raised to obtain details of power plant projects launched, including their costs and the progress made, in J&K since 2019. The minister, in response, said that a major initiative for the development of hydropower in J&K was jointly undertaken by the Government of India and the Union Territory, aiming to transform J&K into an energy surplus UT.
The objective, according to him, was achieved through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on January 3, 2021 between the Government of J&K and National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC).
Under the MOU, three projects with a total installed capacity of 2354 Megawatts (MW) were allocated to NHPC for development on a Build, Own, Operate, and Transfer (BOOT) basis. These projects include Uri (Stage-11) with a capacity of 240 MW, Dulhasti (Stage-II) with a capacity of 258 MW, and Sawalkote HEP with a capacity of 1856 MW.
“930 MW Kirthai II HEP was given to Chenab Valley Power Projects [P] Ltd. (CVPPPL) for development in Joint Venture mode,” the response from the Ministry of Power states.
The response further reads that the Government of India and J&K government have created Rattle Hydro Power Development Corporation Limited, a joint venture company between NHPC and JKPDC, for the development of the 850 MW Rattle HEP. The project is currently under execution and is expected to be commissioned by May 2026.
Furthermore, according to the minister, Jammu & Kashmir State Power Development Corporation Limited (JKSPDC) has generated 48,808.68 Million Units of electricity in the last nine years from 13 Hydro power Projects with installed capacity of 1197.4 MW.
The UT has also received 99,430 MU since 2018 from the center. The government said the energy deficit in UT has been reduced from 17.8% during the year 2018-19 to 1.5% during the year 2023-24. As on November 2023, 2791 MW of power has been allocated to UT from Central Generating Stations.
Ministry of Power has also been allocating additional power to J&K to help authorities to meet the increased demand of power during the winter months. “In this regard, Ministry of Power has made additional allocation of 393 MW for the month of December-23, 443 MW for the months of January-24 & February-24 and 593 MW for the month of March-24 to UT of J&K,” the government said.
The center said that the J&K government has identified 14 projects with aggregate installed capacity of 738.5 MW for execution.
Providing details about the projects launched, the minister said, “Four hydroelectric projects namely Kiru (624 MW), Ratle (850 MW) Kwar (540 MW) and Karnah (12 MW) totaling to a capacity of 2026 MW have been launched in J&K since 2019.”
According to him, the development of these projects shall have a great impact on the overall economic development of J&K including employment generation of otherwise economically backward areas.
Follow this link to join our WhatsApp group: Join Now
Be Part of Quality Journalism |
Quality journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce and despite all the hardships we still do it. Our reporters and editors are working overtime in Kashmir and beyond to cover what you care about, break big stories, and expose injustices that can change lives. Today more people are reading Kashmir Observer than ever, but only a handful are paying while advertising revenues are falling fast. |
| ACT NOW |
| MONTHLY | Rs 100 |  |
| YEARLY | Rs 1000 | |
| LIFETIME | Rs 10000 | |
