Govt. of India to formulate special hydel power policy : Piyush Goyal

13 Feb, Mumbai
The power ministry intends to revive a number of hydel power projects which have been stuck due to various reasons, said Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal.
Addressing the “Progressive Maharashtra” summit organized by FICCI in Mumbai, Goyal said the government is planning to formulate a special small hydel power policy to remove the hurdles in implementing these projects.

Goyal said the government is also working to revive large hydro projects of national importance. These projects include the 1,200-mw Teesta-III project in Sikkim and the 2,000-mw Shubhamsari project in Arunachal Pradesh, which when completed will be the largest hydel plant in the country. Huge investments have been made into these projects and the government will support them as much as possible, he said.

Calling for a radical change in the way large infra projects are announced, Goyal said that no projects should be announced without the necessary approvals and land clearances in place.
Reiterating the government’s commitment on increasing energy capacity, Goyal said the government is looking at nearly 250 billion US dollar investments into the sector in the next few years. He also expressed the need to rework on the tax regime and regulatory framework to ensure foreign investments come into the country.

Goyal further informed that his ministry is in talks with other departments to explore whether plants could be set up at the pit-head where the coal blocks are located as this will reduce the cost of power generation. The Modi government has set an ambitious target of generating 3,000 billion units from the present 53 billion of renewable energy over the next five years.