Tehri Hydroelectric Development Corporation Ltd, the joint venture of the Central and Uttar Pradesh governments, has approached the ministry of power for allocation of all the hydropower projects located in the Dhauliganga river basin. The 82-km long Dhauliganga river, an important tributary of the Ganga, merges with Alakananda river at Vishnuprayag in Uttarakhand.
According to THDC, integrated development of the Dhauliganga river basin by just one developer would be beneficial as it would result in economies of scale i.e. recovery of costs incurred on infrastructure works. Besides, it would also help optimise operations of the cascade powerhouses in terms of water regulation, silt control, and catchment area treatment.
In order to develop the river basin in a cascade and integrated manner, some downstream projects, such as the 240-mw Chungar Chal, 230-mw Sela Urthing and 280-mw Urthing Sobla, it was necessary to allot the project to a single developer, THDC noted. The corporation asked the power ministry to recommend the allotment of the above projects to the utility as it had also been allotted the 330-mw Bokang Bailing HEP in the river basin. THDC has already placed this request before the Uttarakhand government.
Meanwhile, the corporation has conducted a reconnaissance survey for spot assessment of the Bokang Bailing HEP site. A THDC team found that the project area lay in a tough location and would be executable under extreme weather, topographical and infrastructural conditions. Bokang Bailing project, being the uppermost project, would require necessary infrastructure like roads and bridges before project work commences. This infrastructure can then also be used by the other downstream projects if developed by THDC
