New Delhi, August 18
Concerned over the frequent disruptions in power generation at the 1500 MW Nathpa-Jhakri hydel power project in Himachal Pradesh, and also the escalation in costs of the project, the Standing Committee on Energy has rapped the government for its failure to fix the guilty.

Expressing unhappiness over the delay by the committee, set up by the Power Ministry, to identify the reasons for the time and cost overruns, the panel has directed that “the committee should identify the lapses and fix the responsibility of the organisation/individual within the next three months and apprise it of the action taken in this regard.”

“The committee will also like to know the lacuna with the detailed project report (DPR) of the said project, if any, and will like to know the steps taken to formulate contingency plan to check such incidents as regard to this project and all other major ongoing hydel projects,” stated the 7th report of the committee, Hydro Power- A Critique, tabled in the Lok Sabha today.

Significantly, the cost for the ‘run of the river’ Nathpa Jhakri Hydo Electric Project (now SJVNL) in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh increased from Rs 1678.02 crore to Rs 7686.31 crore. The project suffered heavy losses in August 2000 due to flash floods and was delayed from 1996-97 to 2003-04.

Rejecting the explanation of the government that the project was delayed due to flash floods, the panel headed by Gurudas Kamat wondered how the project was delayed for seven years and the cost escalated by about Rs 6000 crore.

Incidentally, the committee members, who visited the project site in May-June 2000, had expressed their apprehensions on this issue. The authorities, however, failed to take any timely action, the panel said.

The panel recommended that the DPRs, cleared by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), and civil work carried out under the supervision of the Central Water Commission (CWC) should be examined thoroughly and minutely and the lacuna in the clearance system should be brought to its notice.

The Power Ministry is also worried, as all units of the project have remained more or less closed due to the rise in the silt level and consequently huge financial losses and decline in power supply to Punjab, Haryana and Delhi.