Tuki bats for hydropower in Aruchal

Our Correspondent

Itagar, March 10: Aruchal Pradesh will earn a whopping Rs 445 crore annually as revenue from 12 per cent free power after commissioning of three ongoing hydropower projects in the state, Chief Minister bam Tuki informed here today.

Responding to zero hour discussion raised in the house by Independent MLA Paknga Bage on ‘state revenue through hydropower sector’, Tuki disclosed that the 110 mega watt Pare project and 600 mw Kameng project executed by North East Electrical Power Corporation (NEEPCO) were expected to be commissioned by this year and next year respectively.

However, the stalled works on the 2000 mw Lower Subansiri hydro electric project would start soon with the state government taking up the issue with the Centre to resolve the impasse at the earliest, he disclosed.

After commissioning, the state would received annual revenue of Rs 17 crore from Pare project, Rs 95 crore from Kameng project and Rs 333 crore from Lower Subansiri project, the chief minister said.

Terming Aruchal as the power house of the country with 60,000 mw hydropower potential, Tuki said that the state could provide 40 per cent power requirement of the tion.

Pointing out that development of hydropower project was a tough job with requirement of hundreds of clearances, the chief minister said that once started and completed, it requires less maintence but huge returns.

“Aruchal, which has been depending on Centre for all development fund, could be a donor state in future if the hydropower potentials of the state are harnessed scientifically,” Tuki pointed out.

“The state hydropower policy framed in tune with the central policy, besides consulting policies of other states of the country particularly, hydropower-rich Himachal Pradesh, is the best with lot of inbuilt incentives for the local entrepreneurs and provisions for protecting the interest of the indigenous population,” he said.

He said, as an encouragement, the local entrepreneurs would be exempted from providing 12 per cent free power to the state government if they execute power projects of 1-5 mw capacity, which would make them owner and employer.

Referring to the opposition of the Lower Subansiri project by anti-dam protagonists in neighbouring Assam, the chief minister maintained that after its completion, Assam would be largely benefited.

“Why people are opposing the project which could be a money spinner for the state,” he wondered adding, the people opposing the project are going against the tiol interest.

“Harnessing of all hydropower potentials, Aruchal could be a self-reliant state while immensely benefitting other states of the North East,” he added.

Earlier Bage, raising the issue pointed out that out of the 160 MoUs and MoAs inked for developing hydropower including 13 projects in Tawang, 24 in West Kameng, East Kameng (22), Papum Pare (10), Lower Subansiri (8), Upper Subanisir (8), Kurung Kumey (7), West Siang (24), East Siang (3), Upper Siang (12), Dibang Valley (8), Lower Dibang Valley (6), Lohit (3), Anjaw (9) and Changlang district (3), majority of the power developers have not started execution of the projects.

He wanted to know the corrective measures initiated by the state government to amend the hydro power policy and prune the doubtful developers, to which Tuki informed that the government had already cancelled several MoUs and MoAs and also directed all the power developers to abide by the agreement executed.