Utpal Bhaskar / New Delhi December 16, 2005

Tehri Hydro Development Corporation Ltd (THDC) will start seven new projects at an estimated cost of Rs 5,766 crore, which will have a generation capacity of more than 1,000 Mw, over the next seven years.

The company has signed an agreement for implementing six projects with capacity of 695 Mw with the Uttaranchal government on November 21 this year.

The tariff for the generated power of the new six projects will be Rs 2 per unit and will be completed by 2012 at a cost of Rs 3,500 crore, R K Sharma, chairman and managing director, THDC told Business Standard.

The Uttaranchal government has allotted the hydro projects of Karmoli (140 Mw), Jadhganaga (50 Mw), Gohana Tal (60 Mw), Malari Jhelam (55 Mw), Jelam Tamak (55Mw) and Bokang Bailing (330 Mw) to THDC for development.

THDC is confident that it will have the revenues to internally fund the six new projects. Outlining the plans for the next decade, Sharma said the company expected to achieve an installed capacity of 4,135 Mw by 2015. The hydro player is also contemplating vying for projects out of Uttaranchal but ruled out any overseas project bidding.

THDC has also been asked to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) on Vishnugad- Pipalkoti hydroelectric project. The project has an estimated cost of Rs 2,266.87 crore and will have a capacity generation of 440 MW. It is scheduled to be completed by March 2011.

THDC also plans to construct a 1,000 MW pump storage plant (PSP) that will pump up water using the off-peak surplus energy from the Koteshwar dam to the Tehri dam. The project will cost Rs 1,799.67 crore has been cleared by Public Investment Board and will be put before cabinet soon.

While 30 per cent of the funding for the project will come as budgetary support and the rest will be in form of commercial loans with the Power Finance Corporation (PFC) being the main lender.

Construction on the Koteshwar project (4X100 MW) is under way and the project will be commissioned in March 2008 at a completion cost of Rs 1,565 crore.

Source: http://www.business-standard.com

Dehradun, 15 Dec 2004
The stand-off between the Uttaranchal government and striking state forest guards has intensified with the authorities suspending 40 guards for negligence of duty.

The state government has so far suspended 40 forest guards as a disciplinary action against them, official sources said here today.

Nearly 3,200 forest guards across the hill state are on indefinite strike since November 26 demanding protection from poachers and the timber mafia apart from a hike in their salaries which, according to them, have remained unchanged for the last over 20 years.

The guards have threatened to close down the famous Jim Corbett and Rajaji National parks, the two main attractions in the state, if their demands were not met.

“We will be compelled to shut both Rajaji and Corbett parks if the state government does not accept our demands immediately,” President of forest guard association Narottam Sati said.

Meanwhile, the strike has put a big questionmark over the security of thousands of animals, including rare Asiatic elephants and leopards in all the six national parks of the state.

Experts say that nearly 500 animals are killed every year by poachers and other miscreants.

The sources, however, said that the guards would soon be invited for talks. PTI
Src: http://www.teamindia.net

Tehri (Uttaranchal), Dec 15 (PTI)
A stream of waters of Bhagirathi river from Tehri dam today began flowing into the Ganga as the level in the reservoir reached 700 metres, a senior official said here.

“Nearly 30 cumex (cubic metres per second) water from Tehri reservoir is being discharged through intermediate level outlet (ILO),” Tehri Hydro Development Corporation Project General Manager S C Shukla said.

The water from Tehri dam flew downstream into the dried Bhagirathi river to meet Alakananda at Devprayag area where they merged together to form the Ganga.

Tehri dam is being built on Bhagirathi river, the flow of which was stopped on October 29 following the closoure of the T-2 tunnel, angering some religious organisations and sadhus who felt the sanctity of Ganga was being violated.

The VHP, during its conclave in Haridwar which concluded yesterday, had demanded the immediate release of adequate water of Bhagirathi river so as to maintain the sanctity of the Ganga. PTI

Source: http://www.ptinews.com

About 70 Cusecs of Bhagirathi water is flowing down stream of Tehri Dam through two nos. of pipes of 400 mm dia laid in the plug of Diversion Tunnel T-1. The Committee constituted by Government of India in April, 2001 under the Chairmanship of Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi, the then Minister of HRD and Science & Technology, had recommended uninterrupted flow (Aviral Dhara) of 35 Cusecs of water of the river Bhagirathi.

Stating this in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today, the Union Minister of Power, Shri P.M. Sayeed informed the Members that Ganga is formed at Devprayag downstream of Tehri Dam, after confluence of river Bhagirathi and river Alaknanda with 1/3rd contribution of Bhagirathi water and 2/3rd contribution of Alaknanda water. The flow from Alaknanda river is continuing unabated with some releases of water from the Bhagirathi river also, on which the Tehri Project has been set up.

Further, the Minister stated that about 1000 cusecs of water shall flow past the Tehri Dam after the reservoir level reaches El.700 m (which is expected around 8th of December, 2005) through the intermediate level outlet (ILO). Once the generation starts, further additional water will become available downstream of Tehri Dam, he added.

Source: http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=13813