Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Saturday, Dec 06, 2003
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Saturday, Dec 06, 2003 |
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Industry & Economy
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Power $15-m small hydel tech aid project nearing completion Vinson Kurian
Thiruvananthapuram , Dec. 5 THE $15-million UNDP/GEF (United Nations Development Programme/Global Environmental Facility) technical assistance project on `Optimising development of small hydro resources in the hilly regions of India' is in the final stages of "successful" implementation in 13 States, according to Dr P. Saxena, Director (Small Hydro Power), Ministry of Non Conventional Energy Sources (MNES). "By developing a package of appropriate technologies and management and ownership models which are people-centered and environmentally sound, the project has demonstrated the potential to reduce deforestation and protect biodiversity in the eco-fragile Himalayan and sub-Himalayan regions, besides reducing emission of green house gases", Dr Saxena said here. The project is being implemented in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Tripura, Uttaranchal and West Bengal. It is designed and implemented by setting up 20 commercially viable small hydel demonstration projects, upgrading institutional and human resource capabilities from the local to the national levels and formulating a national strategy and a master plan in this sector. The outlay of $15-million comprised the GEF input amounting to $7.5 million and the Government of India's contribution of Rs 22.48 crore. The project was approved to achieve reduction in global warming through the use of a renewable, perennial, non-fossil fuel-based energy source, namely small hydro energy, and protection of biodiversity in the Himalayan and sub-Himalayan regions, by reducing deforestation. It is aimed to achieve this by providing electricity through locally available small hydel resources for cooking, heating, agricultural and commercial loads, thus replacing wood, and the adoption of irrigation-based cultivation. In addition, electricity generated through local small hydel projects would translate into more number of local job opportunities, which could possibly have a sobering effect on migration of population from remote rural areas to urban centres in search of jobs, and by extension, on pollution in urban areas. In order to assess the available data on untapped small hydro potential in the Himalayan and sub-Himalayan regions, a State-wise baseline study was conducted, including on the institutional arrangements available in various States to tap small hydro potential. A zonal plan had been prepared for all the 13 participating States using 600 topographical maps available from the Survey of India for the Himalayan region, latest techniques of geographical information system (GIS), computer modelling and actual data to identify small hydro potential sites and their power generating potential. Over 2,000 sites with an aggregate potential of 3,800 MW have been identified as part of this exercise. The database of potential SHP sites created on GIS platform has formed a basis for developing a wider information base covering the details of SHP potential sites in the country. Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal and J&K have offered over 450 sites to the private sector for developing SHP projects.
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