New Delhi, Aug 28: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved equity support of Rs 4,136 crore to northeast states for developing hydropower projects, totalling 15,000 MW capacity over the next eight years.The Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Power for providing central financial assistance (CFA) to the state governments of NER (North East Region) towards their equity participation in the development of hydroelectric projects through Joint Venture (JV) collaboration between state entities and Central Public Sector Undertakings, an official statement said.
This scheme has an outlay of Rs 4,136 crore to be implemented from 2024-25 to 2031-32, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a briefing on the Cabinet decisions.
A cumulative hydro capacity of about 15,000 MW would be supported under the scheme, the statement said.
The scheme will be funded through 10 per cent gross budgetary support (GBS) for the northeastern region from the total outlay of the Ministry of Power.
The grant towards the equity portion of the state government of NER would be capped at 24 per cent of the total project equity, subject to a maximum of Rs 750 crore per project.
The cap of Rs 750 crore for each project would be revisited, if required, on a case-to-case basis.
The equity ratio of the CPSU and state government in the JV will be maintained at the time of disbursing of the grant.
Central financial assistance would be limited to only viable hydroelectric projects. States would be required to waive or stagger free power and reimburse SGST to make the project viable.
With the introduction of this scheme, participation of state governments in hydro development will be encouraged and risk and responsibilities will be shared in a more equitable manner, the statement said.
The issues like land acquisition, rehabilitation & resettlement and local law & order issues would be reduced with state governments becoming stakeholders. This will avoid time and cost over-run of the projects, it added.
It would bring huge investment in the northeastern region and will provide a large number of direct employment to the local people, it noted.
The development of hydroelectric projects will also contribute towards the realisation of India’s Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) of establishing 500 GW renewable energy capacity by 2030 and help the integration of RE sources in the grid thus enhancing flexibility, security and reliability of the national grid, as per the statement.
Meanwhile, Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved three railway projects with a total estimated cost of Rs 6,456 crore, a statement from the Ministry of Railways said.
According to the ministry, the approved projects will improve logistical efficiency by connecting the unconnected areas, increase the existing line capacity and enhance the transportation networks, resulting in streamlined supply chains and accelerated economic growth.
“The new line proposals will provide direct connectivity and improve mobility, providing enhanced efficiency and service reliability for the Indian Railways. The multi-tracking proposal will ease operations and reduce congestion, providing the much-required infrastructural development on the busiest sections across the Indian Railways,” the ministry said.
“The projects are in line with Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modiji’s vision of a New India which will make people of the region ‘Atmanirbhar’ by way of comprehensive development in the area which will enhance their employment/ self-employment opportunities,” it added.
According to the ministry, the projects are result of PM-Gati Shakti National Master Plan for multi-modal connectivity which have been possible through integrated planning and will provide seamless connectivity for movement of people, goods and services.
“The three projects covering seven districts in four states i.e., Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh will increase the existing network of Indian Railways by about 300 kms,” the ministry said.
“With these projects, 14 new stations will be constructed, providing enhanced connectivity to two aspirational districts (Nuapada and East Singhbum),” it added.
Highlighting the benefits of the new line projects, the ministry stated these will provide connectivity to approximately 1,300 villages and about 11 lakh population.
“Multi-tracking project will enhance connectivity to approximately 1,300 villages and about 19 lakh population,” it said.
The ministry also emphasized the benefits to the freight traffic as these are essential routes for transportation of commodities such as agriculture products, fertilizer, coal, iron ore, steel, cement and limestone etc.
“The capacity augmentation works will result in additional freight traffic of magnitude 45 MTPA (Million Tonnes Per Annum),” the ministry said.
“The Railways being environment friendly and energy efficient mode of transportation will help both in achieving climate goals and minimizing logistics cost of the country, reduce oil import (10 crore litres) and lower CO2 emissions (240 crore kg) which is equivalent to plantation of 9.7 crore trees,” it added.
