Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said the state government was seeking legal opinion to take over power projects operating without set timelines

Presiding over the International Conference on Dam Safety here on Thursday, he said due to the immense hydel power potential, Himachal was becoming the focal point in the renewable energy sector globally.

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He said that the river waters were the main source of power generation in the state however, during the initial years, there was no timeline set for licenses issued to the power generation companies, which is normally 35 to 40 years and because of this, the state suffered substantial losses. “There are still many such power projects wherein no timelines has been fixed to handover the projects to the state government. We are fighting legal battle to take back these projects and legal opinion being sought in this regard,” he said.

He said if need be, all such projects in which the interest of the state government has been completely ignored would be taken over by the government in the near future.

Sukhu said that the people of Himachal Pradesh have immensely contributed in paving the way for setting up many hydel power projects in National interest and for the development of the Nation and many were displaced during the construction of Bhakra Dam and Pong Dam, who were still fighting for their settlement rights.

He assured that the present state government would take every possible measure to address the grievances of such families affected due to the construction of these Dams.

The Chief Minister said that it was very unfortunate that the people of Himachal Pradesh had to approach the Apex Court to get their share in the electricity sector.

On the one hand, ample water in the reservoirs lead to prosperity while on the other, during the rainy seasons, the dam waters, when released, bring hardship to the people living downstream, he pointed out, adding that there was a need to give added attention to such issues besides ensuring security of dams. “Since the people of the state have already borne the brunt of nature’s fury in 2023, we have to prepare ourselves much in advance to mitigate such calamities,” he said.

With the incidents of cloudburst increased recently in Himachal Pradesh, the Chief Minister directed the dam authorities to alert the people well in time living downstream of the catchment areas of the projects before releasing the excess water.

Sukhu emphasized the need for quality in the construction of dams as well as its regular maintenance to ensure their life and safety.

He said that climate change and a few other reasons were posing new challenges for dam safety in the Himalayan region and we should adopt a multi-dimensional approach to mitigate these challenges.

He said that the government has implemented the Dam Safety Act for surveillance, inspection, operation and maintenance of dams for which Dam Safety Committee has also been constituted.

This committee would look after the maintenance and safety of all the dams in the state, he added.