In another step to make Uttarakhand ‘India’s leading energy producing State’, a 300-MW hydroelectric power project received environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) on Monday, Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar told The Hindu .
The 300-MW Lakhwar project is located in the Upper Yamuna River Basin in Dehradun district.
According to the department in charge of the project Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (UJVNL), the project will produce 612.93 Million Units of electricity every year. The project will also provide drinking water, water for irrigation, and water for industrial use.
The states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi, and Himachal Pradesh will benefit from the drinking water and water for irrigation produced by the project.
The project had received clearance in 1986 when it was under Uttar Pradesh’s Irrigation Department. Work continued till about 1992. The project work was later transferred to the UJVNL. A change in the authority undertaking the project required a new clearance, which is what the State Government was trying to seek.
The project work was stalled even after 30 percent work had already been done in the past.
Mr. Kumar said work for Lakhwar project’s power house had started before the project was transferred to the UJVNL.
The cost of the Lakhwar project is almost Rs 4,000 crore and its completion is expected by the year 2019.
