Centre approves Rs 1,810 cr investment for Himachal hydro project

New Delhi, Nov 4 (IANS) The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday approved the investment of Rs 1,810.56 crore for the 210 MW Luhri Stage-I Hydro Electric Project located on the river Satluj in Shimla and Kullu districts of Himachal Pradesh.This project, being implemented by the Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (SJVNL) on Build-Own-Operate-Maintain (BOOM) basis, will generate 758.20 million units of electricity annually.The Luhri Stage-I Hydro Electric Project shall be commissioned within a span of 62 months. The power generated from the project will help in providing Grid stability and will improve the power supply position. Besides adding valuable renewable energy to the grid, the project would also lead to reduction of 6.1 lakh tons of carbon dioxide from the environment annually, thus contributing to improvement in air quality.The construction activities of the project will result in direct and indirect employment to around 2,000 persons and will contribute to overall socio-economic development of the State, a government statement said.Further, Himachal Pradesh will benefit with free power worth around Rs 1,140 crore from Luhri Stage-I Hydro Electric Project, during the project life cycle of 40 years. The project affected families will be provided with 100 units of free electricity per month for ten years, the statement said.
--IANS sn/dpb