Gerukamukh (Assam), Nov 25 (PTI) About 3,000 workers have been pressed into work round the clock for the 2000 MW Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project in Assam which will be the country’s largest conventional power project, officials said on Monday.
Three units of the NHPC’s project being developed on the Subansiri river located on the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border in Dhemaji district will start functioning by March next year, NHPC Executive Director and Project Head Rajendra Prasad said, adding the project will provide electricity to 17 states across the country.
“The project is 95-96 per cent complete. It will supply electricity to 17 states, including Rajasthan. The project will be India’s largest conventional power project. Three units of 250 MW each of this project are expected to be commissioned by March 2025,” Prasad said.
He said that under this project, a total of eight units will be installed which will provide power to various states, including Assam (533 MW) and Arunachal Pradesh (274 MW). Other Northeastern states (Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura and Mizoram) will get 198 MW power.
Besides, the project will give 387 MW electricity to northern states (Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh) and 613 MW to western states (Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Goa).
Prasad also said that a detailed project report (DPR) of two more projects of 1650 MW and 1710 MW being built on the other banks of Subansiri river is being prepared, which will make it the largest hydropower project on any river in the country.
He said that the NHPC Limited commenced construction work of the Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project in January 2005. However, due to agitations and protests by local stakeholders, the project construction work was stalled from December 2011 to October 2019, he added.
The work resumed in October 2019 after the clearance by the National Green Tribunal.
“Due to the eight-year delay, the project cost increased from Rs 6,285 crore in 2005 to about Rs 26,000 crore presently. The project has now picked up pace due to the efforts of our staff and the Centre. A total of Rs 22,000 crore has been spent and the project is in its final phase.
“We have challenged Subansiri river, which is a tributary of Brahmaputra river. We are fighting with nature to realise the mega and marvellous engineering project. It is a completely indigenous project,” Prasad said.
He said that once the project gets fully commissioned, it will generate revenue of Rs 4,000 crore in a year and provide direct employment to 5,000 people.
The NHPC has resolved all local issues and is also working on various CSR projects in Gerukamukh village, including schools and hospitals, to improve the livelihood of villagers, he added. PTI AG KVK KVK
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