India to commission 636 small hydro projects

A total of 636 hydro projects having capacity of less than 25 MW each are expected to be by India commissioned during the XIIth plan.

These projects were allotted by the state governments and are due to be accorded environment and forest clearances by Ministry of Environment and Forests regional offices within a short period of time.

The state of Himachal Pradesh will have 432 projects with a total capcity of 1,371 MW, majority in the districts of Kullu and Shimla.

In Chattisgarh, 63 projects are to be executed, with a cumulative capacity of 537 MW. For most of the projects, the detailed project report is being chalked out for provision of required clearances.

The capacity addition due to 30 projects being implemented in Karnataka amounts to 208 MW. With almost equal number of projects being executed in the state of Orissa, the total capacity exceeds that of Karnataka by more than 150 MW.

The contribution of hydro plants in Jammu and Kashmir is lowest at 93 MW. Apart from one project, the work in rest of them has not commenced till date. In Arunachal Pradesh, close to 40 projects, with highest total capacity of 602 MW, are spread across 8 districts.

Out of 33 projects based in Maharashtra, 21 projects are yet to sign an agreement whereas the remaining are still in the clearance stages. The capacity of these projects stands at 94 MW. The total capacity of all projects to be executed is equal to 3,277 MW.