Dec 29: The implementation of Jai Prakash Associates Limited's (JPL) Karcham Wangtoo hydroelectric project (HEP) in Himachal Pradesh has been stalled since September 2008. ICICI Bank, the financer for the 1000 MW HEP, has not disbursed any funds to the developer during the past six months. A mere sum of Rs 39 crore has been released, so far, out of the Rs 830 crore committed to by the private sector bank.
8The on-going financial crunch has been felt by most financial institutions, including ICICI. It seems unclear, at this point, whether this is to be blamed for the delay in disbursement, or if other factors are shaping ICICI's stepmotherly treatment towards this project. In either case, development of the project has been affected.
8Financing apart, there are several other factors which has marred the execution of the HEP. The lease land is yet to be mortgaged by the state government, thus exposing the developers to penal interest. The project, which was awarded to JPL in 2003, had achieved the imperative river diversion in April 2007; however, till date, only 8,18,938 cum of the main-dam has been excavated, out of a total of 1,0,81,500 cum. The project involves the construction of a dam with a height of 98 meters.
8In light of these circumstances, the originally targeted commissioning date of the HEP, in April 2011, seems to be no better than a daydream. Even the newly revised commissioning schedule of November 2011 seems to be unachievable.