Moser Baer Pays Rs 43.92 Cr Upfront Money For 144 MW Himachal Hydro Project

By: Ravinder Makhaik

[lang_en]Shimla:Branching out into hydropower generation, Moser Baer, the computer technology company, today paid up Rs 43.92 crore as upfront money to the Himachal government for the 144 MW Gondhla project that it has won in a global bidding process.

Awadh B Giri, chief executive officer of Moserbaer Projects Pvt Ltd, today paid up the 50 percent upfront premium money for the project allotment by cheque to chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal.

Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister said, a known IT company foraying into hydro generation in difficult geo-physical conditions would pave the way for more power projects getting established in Lahaul valley.

“The Gondhla project, allotted to Moser Baer, is the first one on Chandra Bhaga river basin, said Dhumal, and though the company may initially find some practical difficulties in executing the project, but ultimately it will stand to benefit as there is vast hydro power potential available in the basin.”

The state government had decided to allot every project with above 5 MW generation potential through the open competitive bidding so as to attract the best companies in the business, said the chief minister.

Besides hydro, the government was exploring opportunities of tapping solar and wind energies. Experts in the filed had been invited to take up the identification work of the locations where such projects could be located, he said.

On the occasion the chief minister urged the bid winning company to honour all provisions of the state power policy, which included providing 70 per cent employment to local people, handing out attractive relief and rehabilitation packages to the people who give their lands for the project and 1.5 per cent of the project cost be marked for developmental and social welfare activities in the project zone.[/lang_en]