Centre to release Rs 1500 crore for micro hydel power projects
The Telegraph
A combination of micro hydel projects of 50-KW and even smaller power generators of 3 KW and 5 KW in Nagaland could well enable a policy thrust on sustainable and environment-friendly power supply for the entire northeastern region during the 11th Five Year Plan. This was disclosed by sources in the Planning Commission today. The Union ministry of science and technology has sanctioned a project for 50 villages in the state where these 50-KW projects will be constructed. A seven-member team is now carrying out a feasibility study in these villages.
The Centre is planning to extend the sustainable solution to cover 1,000 villages in Nagaland with an outlay of Rs 1,500 crore in the near future, sources said.
Combined with these powerful generators are the still smaller versions of 3-KW and 5-KW generators and turbines, which were brought from China a few years ago. When first displayed, the hydel generators created a stir in Phesama, a village close to state capital Kohima. A small team of engineers, with help from the villagers, erected at least two machines that used stream water to power tubelights and bulbs for a demonstration. This project is being tried out in more than 300 sites across the state.
However, since the turbines are not locally manufactured, the project is encountering hurdles even as the ministry is yet to finance installation charges.
The small hydel projects that have helped Nepal and China can now help India’s Northeast. Chief minister Neiphiu Rio has forwarded a proposal to have small, village-owned and village-operated hydroelectric projects to the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission. The state government has constituted a seven-member team, which is now working in close association with A.M. Gokhale, adviser of the Northeast, Planning Commission.
The ministry of new and renewable energy has mentioned that the small hydro projects can act as a thrust area where research and development is needed. “The success could then be replicated in several areas of the Northeast,” said Gokhale, former chief secretary of Nagaland. Gokhale is also known for bringing to Nagaland the village development board concept, an idea that is being seen as a potential tool of decentralisation in other tribal areas.
Community-managed power projects will be a new addition to Nagaland’s firsts in decentralisation. The state also has the single-metering system where every village has a single power meter on the basis of which the community pays bills. Small and micro hydel projects are also being seen as a powerful medium to solve the power problem in the Northeast, where hydro power potential is immense but transmission and distribution is seen as a problem for remote hilly areas.
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