Hydropower needed to arrest climate change, says power minister

Guwahati: Union power ministerR K Singh, who is on a two-day visit to the northeast from Monday, has said mega hydropower projects are being constructed in the region in tandem with the global resolution to arrest climate change. He said India must move towards green energy as the rest of the world is doing.

Singh was reviewing the progress of the 2000-MW Lower Subansiri Hydropower Project, which is the country’s largest under-construction hydropower project, at Gerukamukh along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border. The Lower Subansiri project received massive resistance from various anti-mega dam organisations in the northeast but Singh said commissioning of the project will be a big gain for the country.

“Today the world is moving from fossil fuel to green energy. Hydro is green energy, a clean energy. The climate is changing, resulting in global warming,” said Singh. He added that hydro power projects are the need of the hour. Solar and wind energy are being added as other forms of clean energy. “Hydro is a natural requirement,” he said.

Singh said hydropower projects will increase the state’s earnings and have multiple effects like generating jobs and creating business. “Among the infrastructure projects, hydro has the maximum multiple effects. People’s developmental needs are associated with hydropower projects,” Singh said.

In the frontier state Arunachal Pradesh, he said several new projects, including the 2,800-MW Dibang multipurpose power project will be expedited. “Arunachal’s total potential is 58,000 MW. Even if 50% of it is exploited, the per capita income of the people of the state will go up five times,” Singh affirmed.

NHPC officials said two units of the Lower Subansiri dam will be operational in December. Singh was present for the erection of Unit 1 (boxing-up) of the project, which is a major milestone towards commissioning of project. The completion of Unit 2 will pave the way for the first phase commissioning of the dam.

Singh, along with Chowna Mein, deputy CM and power minister, Arunachal Pradesh, held a review meeting with the senior management of various power utilities working in the region.