Our Bureau
New Delhi
A few months ago, India suspended the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan following the terror attack in Pahalgam. Now, the country is all set to build the biggest hydroelectric power project on the Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir.
As per the reports, this is going to be a massive 1856-Megawatt hydroelectric project that India will be working on. For the project, India will not seek no objection from Pakistan as the treaty between the two nations has been suspended.
This Wednesday, on July 31st, it was reported that the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) has started the process to provide tenders for the Sawalkote Hydroelectric Project. NHPC have formally invited bids on an International Competitive Bidding (ICB) basis for the project and have stated that the last date for submitting the bids would be September 10th.
The Chenab Hydroelectric power project is a joint venture of both NHPC and J&K’s Power Development Corporation. It is set to be built in two phases and the total cost of the project is estimated to be somewhere around Rs 22,704 crore. The project has been in the works for nearly 40 years as it was first conceived in the 1980s. Pakistan had always objected to the construction of the dam as they stated that it would disrupt the flow of the Chenab River.
The government has removed several hiccups that could have come in the way of international bidding or anything that could have hampered the construction of this project of strategic importance. Along with that the Forest Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Environment granted the approval for transferring around 3000 acres of reserved forest and jungle Jhari land for the construction of the project.
