Describing hydro power as the cheapest and pollution-free energy option, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Saturday said the country would produce additional 34,000 mw through hydro development and light up every household in the country by 2012.

The country is committed to provide light in every village by 2007 and every household by 2012 as planned, he said after laying the foundation stone of the 520 mw Omkareshwar hydro power project here.

The Prime Minister asserted that the country was committed to produce 34,000 mw additional hydro power, up from the existing 27,000 mw, under the tenth and eleventh five-year plans and said the concerned department was conducting the required feasibility study for this.

PTI