Chamoli (Uttarakhand), Nov. 16 Marking a first, power major NTPC Ltd has got an insurance cover for an entire village for five years against any disaster or mishap while carrying out work on a hydro-power project in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand.
The initiative, aimed at ensuring timely completion of the 520-MW run-of-the-river Tapovan Vishnugad project on the river Alaknanda, could set the trend for future hydel projects in the country. Most hydro-electric projects fall behind schedule on account of resistance from affected people in the vicinity of the project site.
“The only way forward in building hydro projects is to take the affected people on board. The insurance cover is a step in this direction,” Mr K. K. Singh, General Manager of the Tapovan Vishnugad project, said. The Rs 8.26-crore insurance policy from state-owned United India Insurance covers the 100-odd families of Selang village, which is close to the project site. In all, 164 structures are covered under the policy, which includes houses and even cow-sheds of the villagers, along with the Panchayat Bhavan, the local school and a temple. The cover is for five years starting from October 14 this year and can be renewed subsequently.
“The policy covers all risks, including the risk of damage to structures during construction. Besides, natural disasters including landslides are also part of the cover,” an NTPC official said. The Selang insurance cover is a test case, which can be replicated with the other affected villages as well, the official said. The Rs 3,000-crore Tapovan project is the first for the thermal power major, with NTPC advancing commissioning of the project by six months to ensure that the first unit comes on stream in the terminal year of the current Plan period.
The innovative ploy by NTPC to tackle resentment among project-affected people comes in the backdrop of the thermal major charting out an aggressive entry into the hydro sector. The company is working on a hydro capacity of over 2,300 MW in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Two of its initial hydro projects — the Koldam project in Himachal Pradesh and Loharinag Pala project in Uttarakhand — have fallen behind schedule on account of problems in civil construction and environmental activism.
“We are planning to bring the Tapovan project for benefits in the Eleventh Plan itself, making it the first hydel project to be commissioned by NTPC,” Mr Singh said. While NTPC had earlier conceived Tapovan Vishnugad as a merchant power project, the company is planning to convert it into a regular power project by entering into power purchase agreements (PPAs) with beneficiary states in the northern region.
NTPC is using a ‘Double-Shield’ Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) with precast concrete segmental lining to mitigate the challenge of difficult terrain and adverse Himalayan geological conditions. The project is designed for annual generation of 2,558.36 GWH and the beneficiaries will be Uttarakhand and the northern States.
Souce:http://www.thehindubusinessline.com
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