No impact on Assam from Arunachal hydel projects, says NEEPCO

Guwahati, Nov 27: The Central Government has cleared two hydro power projects, one of 240 MW and one of 186 MW in Arunachal Pradesh and the projects will be implemented by a joint venture company of the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) and Government of Arunachal Pradesh.

NEEPCO sources told The Assam Tribune that both projects have been cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Sources said that the projects were cleared after detailed environment assessment and downstream assessment impact studies.

Replying to a question, NEEPCO sources said that the projects would not have any adverse impact on Assam as those would be far off from the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border and located far ahead of Alo. Sources further said that both the projects would be run of the river projects and the flow of the rivers would not be affected.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved an investment of Rs. 1,939 crores to construct the Heo Hydro Electric Project (HEP) in Shi Yomi District of Arunachal Pradesh.

The estimated completion period for the project is 50 months. The project with an installed capacity of 240 MW (3 x 80 MW) would produce 1000 Million Units (MU) of energy. The power generated from the project will help improve the power supply position in Arunachal Pradesh and will help in balancing the National Grid. The project will be implemented through a Joint Venture Company between NEEPCO and the Government of Arunachal Pradesh. The Government of India will extend Rs. 127.28 crores as budgetary support for the construction of roads, bridges and associated transmission lines under enabling infrastructure besides Central Financial Assistance of Rs. 130.43 crore towards equity share of the State.

The state would benefit from 12 per cent free power and another 1 per cent towards the Local Area Development Fund (LADF) besides significant infrastructure improvement and socio-economic development of the region.

The project, in line with the aims and objectives of Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, would provide various benefits to local suppliers, enterprises, and MSMEs. During the construction phase, the project will require approximately 200 personnel from NEEPCO and around 400 workers from the contractor. In addition, the project will create significant indirect employment opportunities for the local community through various small contracts and services during its execution. Furthermore, its development would create employment in sectors such as transportation, tourism and small-scale businesses.

The Cabinet Committee has also approved the investment of Rs. 1,750 crore to construct the Tato-I Hydro Electric Project (HEP) in Shi Yomi district of Arunachal Pradesh. The estimated completion period for the project is 50 months. The project with an installed capacity of 186 MW (3 x 62 MW) would produce 802 Million Units (MU) of energy.

The project will also help in the infrastructure improvement and socio-economic development of the region. There will be significant improvement in infrastructure, including the development of around 10 km of roads and bridges, for the project which shall be mostly available for local use. The district will also benefit from the construction of essential infrastructure such as hospitals, schools, vocational training institutes like ITIs, marketplaces, playgrounds, etc. to be financed from dedicated project funds of Rs.15 crores.

-By R Dutta Choudhury