All hydel projects with investment requirement of up to Rs 1,000 crore may soon be exempted from the mandatory techno-economic clearance of the Central Electricity Authority.
The power ministry is set to authorise state governments to undertake an appraisal of such hydropower projects on their own.
Sources said power minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has already given his nod for the proposed policy change and the same may be notified soon. Currently, exemption is available only to projects with investment requirement of up to Rs 500 crore as per the existing policy implemented in 2006.
Kameswara Rao, leader, energy utilities and mining, PWC, said: ?The proposal to delegate more powers to states in appraisal of hydropower projects is part of the Centre?s policy to deregulate the sector.?
India has the potential to generate 1.5 lakh mw of electricity from its hydro resources. However, it has harnessed only a quarter of that potential. The proposed policy change will help states, including Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and J&K to expedite implementation of hydropower projects.
Some states had asked the ministry to exempt all hydel projects with investment ceiling of Rs 2,500 crore from CEA?s mandatory clearance. However, the proposal was strongly opposed by the CEA, which feared dilution of its power.