Himachal secures relief from Rs 2,000-cr power liability in Kishau project

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Six states sign Rs 15,624-crore pact; Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan to bear state’s estimated power-component cost

Shimla, September 16

Himachal Pradesh has secured relief from an estimated Rs 2,000-crore liability towards the power component of the Rs 15,624-crore Kishau Multipurpose Project, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said after an agreement was signed by six states for implementation of the project.

Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Rajasthan signed the agreement in New Delhi on Tuesday in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Jal Shakti Minister C R Patil. The project is proposed on the Tons river along the Himachal Pradesh-Uttarakhand border.

Sukhu said the Centre had agreed in principle that Delhi, Rajasthan and Haryana, which would benefit from the project’s water component, would bear the estimated cost of Himachal Pradesh’s share of the power component.

He said the issue had remained unresolved for eight years and that his government had rejected an earlier proposal under which Himachal Pradesh was to bear Rs 800 crore, citing the state’s limited financial resources.

The CM said the state had also argued that the Centre was providing 90 per cent assistance for the water component and that Himachal Pradesh should not be subjected to an additional financial burden for the power component.

The project would also involve the displacement of people in the affected areas and that Himachal Pradesh would bear the associated social costs, Sukhu added.

He said the state was expected to receive around 1,000 million units of electricity annually, which could generate more than Rs 1,000 crore in annual revenue.

The six states had reached an understanding on the financial arrangements during a meeting chaired by Shah on June 16. The Centre had said 90 per cent of the water-component cost would be provided as Central assistance, with the remaining 10 per cent shared by the participating states.

The Centre subsequently confirmed that the agreement was signed on September 15 and that the project would be taken forward under the agreed framework.