As many as 13 under-construction hydroelectric projects with a total generation capacity of 13,000 MW will bring an investment of around Rs 1.4 lakh crore in Arunachal Pradesh, Union Power minister R K Singh said. Singh visited the 2,000 MW Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project located in Arunachal Pradesh / assam on Monday, a power ministry statement said. The minister inspected the Subansiri project construction sites, namely the dam, intake structures and diversion tunnels in Gerukamukh, Assam. He took stock of the ongoing construction activities and was briefed about the progress.
The minister said that besides Subansiri, which is a large project, the government of Arunachal Pradesh has entered into MoUs with central public sector undertakings for 13 projects, which will amount to a hydroelectric capacity of 13,000 MW in Arunachal. “These projects will bring in investment of around Rs 1.4 lakh crore in the state, resulting in quadrupling of per capita income. And the nation will get clean power,” he stated.
Similarly, five hydel projects are under construction in Jammu & Kashmir. “Hence, our hydro potential in Jammu & kashmir too is moving ahead and a lot of investment is coming in,” added Singh. Expressing satisfaction with the review of the project, the minister said that the importance of hydel projects has increased since round-the-clock renewable energy is not possible without hydropower.
Our power demand will double by 2030; our total consumption today is 1,600 billion units, which will become around 3,000 billion units, he pointed out. However, even now, power consumption is low compared to developed countries; Europe’s per capita power consumption is around 3 times that of ours today, he stated.
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