A Group of Ministers (GoM) announced their decision to scrap the NTPC's600 MW Loharinag Pala hydel project on Bhagirathi river in Uttarakhand which was a source of contention for religious and environmental reasons.
The GoM held a meeting headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee where the project was re-examined. The GoM recommended that the project, on which the work has been stalled for some time, should be scraped.
The project was uncertain as the government first suspended the work and later resumed work citing huge financial costs. More than Rs 700 crore has already been spent on the project. The GoM has already scrapped 480 MW Pala Maneri and 381 MW Bhairon Ghati hydel projects which were put forward by the state government.
Union minister of power Sushil Kumar Shinde expressed that after considering environmental concerns and recommendation of the Prime Minister to review the project, it was decided to cancel the project. A number of religious leaders were protesting against the dam saying that the dam on Bhagirathi river, which is a tributary to Ganga, would restrict the flow of water and cause danger to the river considered Holy in Hinduism.
Meanwhile, Shinde has said that is ministry will try to get compensation for NTPC due to the losses incurred on the project.
“We will write to the Cabinet seeking compensation for NTPC for all the investments it made in the project. The direct investment in the project estimated to be around Rs. 650 crore and if we take into account the equipment orders placed by the company, the total compensation would be around Rs. 2,000 crore,” he said.
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