M A I N   N E W S

Anandpur Sahib hydel project stuck
Machinery worth crores lying idle
Varinder Walia
Tribune News Service

Anandpur Sahib, December 28
The multi-crore power project stage-I (Anandpur Sahib hydel project, stage II) has been hanging fire since its inception in 1984. Machinery worth crores has been lying idle in Malakpur a sleepy town 30 km from here. Hydel power project site has become a dense jungle which earlier was cleared at huge cost.

The mega project was estimated to cost only Rs 150 crore initially but more than Rs 100 crore has already been spent on machinery and civil works. If the price of the land is also included the total cost of the project would come out to be more than Rs 250 crore. The area of the project is more than 200 acres. The project is linked with controversial SYL canal. When completed the project would produce 36 mega watt of power. Had the project been completed on time, it would have fetched much more than the cost by now. Experts feel the machinery would become obsolete in case the PSEB Punjab State Electricity Board failed to utilise it at the earliest.

The project was abandoned after a controversy over SYL canal erupted. However, top hydel power experts are of the view that machinery worth crores had been dumped by linking it with the SYL canal. They are of the view that the project could be completed even without linking it with the SYL canal. It is learnt that high-ups in the PSEB had taken up the matter at the highest level several times but in vain. Experts feel that instead of linking the abandoned project with the SYL canal it should be termed an ‘extension’ of Anandpur Sahib hydel project. A visit to the project site revealed that only skeleton staff looked after machinery worth crores. The machinery now dumped in stores may become junk.