Chairman Legislative Council, Haji Anayat Ali today said that the Small Hydro Projects (SHPs) funded by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy GOI could play key role to cater to the power requirements in the district especially during the winter season when the demand for power supply goes up due to overload over the existing power arrangement.The Chairman stated this while reviewing the pace of progress over the Small Hydro Projects being executed by Kargil Renewable Energy Development Agency (KREDA).Chairman and Chief Executive Councillor Kargil and Chairman KREDA Kacho Ahmad Ali Khan, Vice Chairman KREDA and Deputy Commissioner Kargil Haji Gulzar Hussain, Project Director KREDA Kacho Ahmad Khan besides other concerned officers and engineers were also present in the meeting. It was given out that work on 1.5 MW SHP Sangrah, 1.5 MW SHP Biaras, 1.5 MW SHP Khandi, 1 MW SHP Chillung and other projects is in full swing while as two new projects have been identified at Umba and Barsoo Nallah under the Prime Minister’s Development Programme (PMDP). The concerned officers said that the projects at Mizat and Umba and other projects at Barsoo Nallah are in the DPR stage while as their prefeasibility report have been prepared and submitted to the concerned quarters.
The Chairman directed the KREDA authorities to assign surveying team to visit all the proposed projects during peak winter so that the lean discharge of the water sources could be fully and precisely recorded. Various issues and bottlenecks with regard to the execution of works at SHP Sangrah came up for discussion in the meeting. The Chairman while expressing dismay over the abnormal delay and non-performance of the engaged firm M/S IMP Powers Mumbai directed the Project Director KREDA to blacklist the company for failing to affect the completion of projects within the stipulated period of time. He also exhorted upon the concerned officers to persuade the local people of Sangrah to extend their full support to KREDA for making land available for laying of 11 KV T&D line a major component of the project from Sankoo to Sangrah so that SHP Sangrah could be tested and commissioned well in time.
He also fixed the target of ending November as the cut-off date for testing of this project. The meeting was further informed that work on SHP Bearass has already been completed and the project is slated to be inaugurated in the first or second week of November this year. It was revealed that the Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy GOI is expected to commission the project. The concerned officers informed the Chairman that SHP Chillong is slated to be commissioned by August while as SHP Khandi by the end of November next year.Meanwhile, the Chairman suggested the need to organize exposure tours to the technical staff of KREDA associated with the SHP sites to Himachal and Uttarakhand states so to have firsthand exposure of the planning, management and execution of such projects on ground.