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NHPC planning project in Cauvery basin

Our Bureau

BANGALORE, July 20

THE public sector National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) has said that it was ready to implement the 810 MW Upper Krishna Project within a time frame of four years.

Speaking at the conference on `Power Generations - Global Trend and Managing Transition', the NHPC Chairman, Mr Yogendra Prasad, said the company was also exploring the possibility of implementing a hydel project in the Cauvery Basin.

These projects he said would help the State in realising the hydro potential of 7,750 MW, of which only 2,250 MW was reached. He added that Hydel stations were ideally suited for meeting peaking demand in view of the short start up time.

Earlier the Chairman of the International Conference on Large Dams (ICOLD) Mr C.V.J. Verma, debunked notions that large dams lead to environment degradation and loss of forest cover. He said, ``Our studies have shown that in the absence of power availabi lity, deforestation takes place for meeting firewood demand.''

He said that large dams prevented this situation from happening and in fact helped environment regeneration in view of consistent water availability.

He also pointed out that countries, like the US which had abandoned hydro-power were now coming back to these sources. This was becuase of concerns relating to energy security, since current energy demand was being met by oil and gas sourced mostly from the politically volatile regions.

Mr Verma also said that India would have to build more large dams so as to augment foodgrain production to 500 million tonnes per year.

He said for improving the standards of living, energy consumption would have to go up by to at least 1000 kilo watt hours per capita. The current consumption at 400 kilo watt hours was lower than most developing countries, he added.

Most of this demand, he said, in the long term would have to be augmented by hydel sources, though immediate requirements could be met by fossil fuel-based sources.