Gujarat plans mini-hydro power projectsn

The Gujarat state government is planning to set up mini-hydro power projects with a total capacity of 10mw along all major dams in central and south Gujarat.

The mini-hydro power plants are likely to come up at Karjan, Damanganga and Vanakbori projects in south Gujarat. “We intend to utilise the excess water during monsoon to generate electricity. At present, this water is being wasted,” said state water resource minister Nitin Patel in the on-going assembly session.

The government has planned two units of 1.5mw each on Karjan project by making an investment of Rs 16 crore. Similarly, the government will invest Rs 24.4 crore at the Damanganga project to generate 5.25mw apart from 1MW that will be generated at Vanakbori.

The minister informed the house that around five lakh hectare will be irrigated due to the various water harvesting programmes carried out during the past five years. According to him, around 20,000 million cubic feet water was being harvested as a result of one lakh check dams built in various parts of the state. He also claimed that the underground water table has risen by around 3 metre to 5 metre in the state.

Defending the state government’s ambitious but controversial Sujalam Sufalam project, the minister said that the Rs 6,500-crore project was very much on track. The opposition demanded a CBI probe in the alleged Rs 500 crore scam in project.