There is an enormous potential for exploiting hydroelectric power in Himachal Pradesh, but implementation needs political and administrative support NATURE has compensated hill states with vast hydropower potential in lieu of the sound agricultural system that is available in the plains. If Arabs have oil, Himalayan states in India have the hydropower wealth. Now, it entirely depends upon the ingenuity of the state concerned how expeditiously it mines/milks its treasure trove. While Uttaranchal is a laggard in this respect, Himachal Pradesh leads all other states in discovering its real wealth. Though late it’s now in the midst of a silent revolution for harnessing the total hydroelectric power potential by 2020 and may become the first hydropower state of India. The Himachal Pradesh Power Department, with the help of the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Corporation, has done a commendable job of identifying 120 power projects with a capacity 17,000 MW (50 per cent projects would be of 5 to 50 MW) across five river basins of the state. Ninety-five per cent projects are run-off-the-river (RoR) type and are located across the rivers Sutlej, Beas, Ravi, Chenab, Pabbar (a tributary of Yamuna) and their tributaries. Run-off-the-river projects In a run-off-the-river project, a weir/barrage is constructed across the river and the flow is diverted through a long straight RCC-lined tunnel at a slope gentler than that of the river, so that the end of the tunnel reaches a far higher elevation than the bed of the river. This level difference is utilised to lead the flow to the turbines of the powerhouse to generate electricity. This system faces two inherent deficiencies. Firstly, the rivers in northern states carry very high discharge during the monsoon season and very low flows during the remaining nine months of the year. Accordingly, the powerhouse does not get full supply of water round the year and the installed capacity remains under-utilised for three quarters to bring the average capacity utilisation to 45 per cent (It’s 95 per cent in case of the Brahmaputra basin). The power producer, therefore, stores the low flow for 18 hours at the barrage and runs the power plant for six hours per day during the peak demand hours. Secondly, in the absence of a storage dam, the silt in the flowing water during rainy season is not entrapped and quite often the concentration goes very high. Once it exceeds 5,000 PPM, the powerhouse has to be closed to prevent damage to turbine blades/runners. Then, one day's closure of a 500 MW power plant causes a generation loss of 120 lakh units or a revenue loss of about Rs 5 crore during the monsoon. Construct storage dams In order to offset these two deficiencies, it is essential that one or two storage dams, e.g., the Khab project across the Satluj River, are constructed in the upstream reaches of the river to entrap silt and store flood water during high flow season to be released later during the lean flow period to increase the power generation of all downstream projects by at least 30 per cent. The storage dam also prevents floods particularly in the Satluj River, where these have been attributed to release of water from the Parchu Lake in China. However, the states have to think wisely before embarking upon the construction of a storage dam these days, because it leads to the submergence of vast forest lands besides causing displacement of large number of families. Dislocation and rehabilitation of communities at locations nearby or elsewhere is a herculean task. Although the density of population and forest trees are minimum at higher altitudes, the perceived risks are highly exaggerated by vocal activists to serve their own selfish ends. In such a scenario, obtaining environment and forest clearances from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) and other agencies has become a big challenge. Big projects like the Bhakra Dam were cleared in good old days and their approvals were not possible in the present times of social, environmental and political activism. But it is hoped that the state will go in for the construction of some storage dams for aforesaid purpose once all the RoR projects are complete and become operational. Green projects On the positive side, RoR projects cause minimal disruptions in the local environment and ecosystem and these two are easily mitigable. So, RoR hydro projects are basically green (renewable energy) and their clearance should be made comparatively easier. On the other hand, these projects will earn lot of carbon credits in the international market being good substitutes for thermal power plants, which cause massive air pollutions and trigger climate changes besides depleting coal reserves for future generations. The compulsory implementation of the Catchment Area Treatment Plan will further convert the entire state into a single bio-reserve and promote eco-tourism Out of 120 projects, at least 70 per cent have been allotted and these are under different stages of execution. Remaining 30 per cent projects (with a combined capacity of about 5000 MW) will be allotted soon. These projects have been initiated both by private and public sector players (SVJN, NTPC, NHPC, HPPCL, HPSEB) almost in equal proportion. Jai Parkash Associates has already started the trial run of its 1000 MW Karcham-Wangtoo project across the Satluj River. (The project has cost the company Rs 7,920 crore or Rs 8 crore per MW). As such, by 2020, Himachal Pradesh will have an additional power generation of 17,000 MW (7650 MW for 24x7 power generation) and earn good revenue. Roadblocks Certain roadblocks, however, are delaying the execution of these projects and accordingly require the attention of both the Centre and the state. Firstly, since some of the projects are located at very faraway places in the Lahaul and Spiti region, the government should build two-three airports for 50-seater planes. In the absence of traffic tunnels, vehicles have to move three times the aerial distance along circuitous roads. Also, some of the important roads have been badly damaged due to rains and need immediate repairs and resurfacing. The agencies concerned (state, BRO and NHAI) should start a massive programme of rebuilding the roads with cut-off tunnels at important bends to reduce distances. All hydropower project sites should be made accessible with good bituminous roads before the start of the projects. For future prosperity of the state, the tunnel rail projects should be taken up urgently, because they will reduce the distances between important towns to one third. Then, Shimla will be only 35 km away from Kalka and an electric train will be able to take one there within an hour. Tunnel rails are urgently required here for defence purposes as well. Secondly, the MoEF should further decentralise its powers to the State Environment Authority (from current 50 MW to 200 MW) for granting clearances for quick financial closure of the projects, as all projects are of identical nature and format. Similarly, for forest clearance, the power of the regional offices of the MoEF needs to be enhanced from five to 50 hectares. Thirdly, at many places, certain mischievous elements with ulterior motives misguide and mobilise the local people to oppose/stall the construction of projects on flimsy grounds. The state authorities need to deal such undesirable elements with a firm hand. The state also needs to launch a strong awareness campaign to familiarise people with the necessity of early execution of hydropower projects for the prosperity of the hill state. If the state disburses a fraction of the revenue earned from these projects directly to the affected families in the form of monthly pensions or shares, people may demand early allotment of power projects in their constituencies like they do for new roads and hospitals. With these measures taken, the dream of commissioning 120 projects by 2020 can be fulfilled well in time and Himachal Pradesh will become another Switzerland in India. In fact, it is high time for the states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh to bag some of these projects through direct negotiations with the Himachal Pradesh government after fulfilling the royalty parameters. R. N. Malik is former Engineer-in-Chief, Public Health Haryana. V. K. Tiwari is Head, Environment Wing, HPPCL, Shimla. These are their personal views.