Central Govt. to seek consensus on Subansiri Lower HEP

Discussions are being held between experts from Govt. of India/National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC) and experts from Stakeholder Groups of Assam and another meeting is likely to be held this month to arrive at a consensus on the Subansiri lower Hydro Electro Project in Assam. The recommendations made by Technical Expert Committee (TEC), Joint Steering Committee (JSC) and Dam Design Review Panel (DDRP) on Subansiri lower Hydro Electro Project were discussed in a tripartite meeting among Govt. of India/NHPC, Govt. of Assam and various Stakeholder Groups of Assam on 06/12/2013 at Guwahati. A meeting of experts from Govt. of India/NHPC and experts from Stakeholder groups was held on 23rd December, 2013, during which it was decided to meet again in February 2014 to arrive at a consensus. 

As per the recommendations of Technical Expert Committee (TEC) constituted by the Planning Commission, the Ministry of Power constituted a Dam Design Review Panel (DDRP) to review some design features of the dam. The recommendations of DDRP have been accepted by Ministry of Power and it has asked NHPC to take the Project forward on the lines suggested by DDRP. As regards raising of Subansiri river embankment, NHPC Board has already approved an amount of Rs.470 Crore for implementation of JSC recommendations out of which Rs.145 Crore is for downstream protection measures. Regarding upstream Catchment Area Treatment (CAT) of Subansiri Lower HEP, the requisite amount of Rs.8.17 Crore as demanded by Arunachal Pradesh State Forest Department has already been deposited by NHPC.