Ita Nagar , About 3000 workers are functioning and dumper trucks ferrying round the clock on the banks of Subansiri river located in Gerukamukh village which falls on the border of the land of rising sun – Arunachal Pradesh and Assam to realise country’s biggest 2000 MW hydro power project, which is likely to be fully commissioned by May 2026.
“The project is 95-96% complete. This project will supply electricity to 17 states of the country along with western states including Rajasthan. Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project will be India’s largest conventional power project. Three units of 250 MW each of this project are expected to be commissioned by March 2025, Executive Director and head of the project,” Rajendra Prasad said.
He said that under this project, eight units will be installed which will allocate power to states, including 533 MW for Assam, 274 MW for Arunachal Pradesh, 198 MW for other North Eastern states (Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura and Mizoram), 387 MW for Northern states (Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh), 613 MW for Western states (Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Goa).
He said that a detailed project report (DPR) of two more projects of 1650MW and 1710 MW being built on the other banks of Subansiri river is being prepared, which will make it the largest hydro power project on any river in the country.
He said that the NHPC Limited commenced construction work of the Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project in January 2005 after obtaining forest clearance on October 12, 2004. However, due to agitations and protests by local stakeholders, the project construction work was stalled from December 2011 to October 2019. The project construction resumed from October 15, 2019, after the clearance by National Green Tribunal.
He said, “The project remained stalled from 2011 to 2019 due to some unrealistic unwanted issues, which caused the delay in the project. The project cost increased from its initial cost in 2005 of Rs 6285 crore to about Rs 26000 crore presently. The project has now picked up pace due to the efforts of our staff and leadership of the Centre. A total of Rs 22,000 crore have been spent and the project is in its final phase.”
“We have challenged Subansiri river, which is a tributary of Brahampurtra river. We are fighting with nature to realise the mega and marvellous engineering project and work is continuing at a fast pace. From concept to commissioning, it is a completely indigenous project,” Prasad said.
He said that once the project gets fully commissioned it will generate revenue of Rs 4000 crore in a year and provide direct employment to 5000 people.
The NHPC has resolved all local issues and continues to resolve such matters. It is also working on various CSR project in Gerukamukh village, including schools and hospitals to improve the livelihood of villagers.
