By IANS,
Jammu: For the first time in Jammu and Kashmir, hydro-power projects will be allotted through tenders, a state government official said Saturday.
Earlier, major projects such as Uri, Salal and Dul Hasti were allotted to public sector National Hydro-Electric Projects Corporation (NHPC) through a memorandum of understanding (MoU). Similarly, the 450-MW Baglihar power project was given to a private company, Jaypee, also through a MoU.
The official said Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had instructed that the entire procedure of awarding projects “should be transparent and the terms and conditions of their execution should be made public”.
The state government has received nine bids from national and international companies for the 690 MW Ratle project in Kishtwar district, northeast of Jammu. Among the bidders are Tata Power, Reliance Power and Larsen and Toubro Power Development Ltd.
“These tenders would be opened on Monday (March 8),” the official said.
He said the Ratle project, which would be completed by 2016, would be given for 25 years to the highest bidder and would thereafter revert to the state.
The developer is expected to invest more than Rs.5,000 crore for the project, which is going to provide substantial employment opportunities to the youth of the state.
Currently, the demand for power in Jammu and Kashmir is 2,500 MW, but the state’s own generation is only 700 MW. The state also gets 12 percent of the 1,700 MW power generated in the state by the NHPC-run projects.