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Government clears 8 Hydropower projects on Indus river in Ladakh

Jammu
January 8, 2021

The Government has cleared 8 hydropower projects of 144 MW on the Indus river and its tributaries in Ladakh, the highest so far, sources in the Jal Shakti Ministry said on Thursday. At present, there are several small projects, with a collective capacity of 113 MW on Indus in Ladakh, and the new projects will have much more capacity than those constructed so far, a senior official added.

The official said the new projects have been cleared by the Central Water Commission as well as the Indus Commissioner after a separate Union Territory of Ladakh was announced last year. These projects will come up in Kargil and Leh districts of Ladakh. Because of its topography, it is not feasible to construct big hydropower projects in the Ladakh region. Durbuk Shyok (19 MW), Shankoo (18.5 MW), Nimu Chilling (24 MW), Rongdo (12 MW), Ratan Nag (10.5 MW) hydropower projects have been cleared for Leh, while Mangdum Sangra (19 MW), Kargil Hunderman (25 MW) and Tamasha (12 MW) have been cleared for Kargil, the official added.

Many of the existing projects as small as 1 MW of capacity. The construction of the new projects will begin after other mandatory clearances are obtained, the official said. "The designs of these projects have been certified as compliant with the Indus Waters Treaty by the Central Water Commission. The information on the design of these projects is being provided to Pakistan as per the provisions of the treaty," the official said.