The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Wednesday approved funding to the tune of ₹1,810.56 crore for the 210 megawatt (MW) Luhri hydropower project on the Satluj river in Himachal Pradesh.
The CCEA, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the investment for the project that is located in Shimla and Kullu districts, a government statement said. The project will take 62 months to be completed and will generate 758.20 million units of electricity a year, the statement added.
The project will be implemented by the Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited on the “build-own-operate-maintain” model and would be supported by the Central and State governments, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said while announcing the decision at a press conference.
“Government of India is also supporting this project by providing grants of ₹66.19 crore for enabling infrastructure which has helped in reducing power tariff,” the statement said.
The clean energy produced by the project will lead to a reduction of 6.1 lakh tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, it said. The construction will lead to jobs for around 2,000 people and free electricity worth ₹1,140 crore for Himachal during the 40-year life cycle of the project.
“The project-affected families will be provided with 100 units of free electricity per month for 10 years,” the statement added.
