Dehra Dun : The Central Electricity Authority has given its nod to the 120 MW Vyasi hydel electric project. It will be the first major hydel power project to come up in the Yamuna basin of Garhwal .
The project, which is being taken as Diwali gift to the people of Uttarakhand had been languishing for almost 15 years, as despite a number of requests and reminders, the Centre was not decided on to give it the green signal or not. Environmental concerns were the road blocks.
The project, which, if all goes well and as per schedule, will take about three to four years to come up and will cost about Rs 1000 crores. When completed it will go a long way in filling the gap between supply and demand of power and help provide round-the-clock electricity.
Incidentally, the project was important to the Uttarakhand government, as it will help exploit the hydel power potential in the Yamuna basin, and open the way for other power projects in the private and central sectors to come up. These projects will go a long way to make Uttarakhand surplus in electricity.
It is also important because the Ganga basin has been declared a no-power project by the central government, taking into consideration the sentiments of the people and also opposition to projects coming on the river by various authorities.
In fact, former chief minister Ramesh Pokhriyal had asked the Centre to give the state 500 MW free power to compensate for not allowing power projects to come up in the Ganga basin. This power, he had contended, would be given free of cost to the residents of Uttarakhand.
A journalist with over 40 years of experience, Jagdish Bhatt was Editor, Hill Post (Uttarakhand).
Jagdish had worked with India’s leading English dailies, which include Times of India, Indian Express, Pioneer and several other reputed publications. A highly acclaimed journalist, he was a recipient of many awards
Jagdish Bhatt, aged 72, breathed his last on 28th August 2021 at his Dehradun residence.
