25 power projects are held up on want of environment clearance

25 power projects in India are currently held up because of lack of environment clearance, Piyush Goyal, Minister of Power (independent Charge) told Lok Sabha. 

Goyal said that as informed by ministry of environment, there are 15 hydro electric projects and 10 thermal power projects pending for environmental clearance. 

Noticeably, among the states Arunachal Pradesh had the highest amount of hydroelectric projects pending. Out of the total, 9 projects are of Arunachal Pradesh. Some of the major projects are Etalin HEP Project (3097 MW) of Jindal Power, Naying HEP (1000 MW) Project and Kalai-II HEP Project (1200 MW). 

Further, Himachal Pradesh had 3 projects pending which involved Sach-Khas HEP (260 MW) project of L& T Himachal Hydropower. 

Other states among pending hydroelectric projects, were Uttarakhand with 2 projects and West Bengal having 1 project pending. 

Goyal said,"The proposals are processed for EC as per the provisions under the EIA Notification. These projects are accorded prior EC within the stipulated timeframe provided all the requisite documents are received from the project proponents and other stake holders in time."

In regards to pending thermal power projects, Telangana state was on top with three projects pending. The state involved two projects of  Telangana State Power Generation Corporation and one of MG Power Projects.

Government of India is providing financial assistance to States including North Eastern Region (NER) under the Restructured Accelerated Power Development & Reforms (R-APDRP) Scheme subsumed in Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS) and “Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana” (DDUGJY), launched by Ministry of Power on 3rd December, 2014, as per release. 

In addition, Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) is providing financial assistance/grant to various power projects in NER under Non Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR).