This story is from August 21, 2020

Power play: New push for 1,200MW hydroelectric plant in Karnataka's Raichur district

Chief minister BS Yediyurappa has received a proposal for a new hydroelectricity plant at a time when the state has predicted excess power production and low bulk demand
Power play: New push for 1,200MW hydroelectric plant in Karnataka's Raichur district
Telangana will also have to sign off on the project, which will involve diversion of Krishna River’s water from the original course, according to Sedam
BENGALURU: Chief minister BS Yediyurappa has received a proposal for a new hydroelectricity plant at a time when the state has predicted excess power production and low bulk demand. At a meeting with Yediyurappa, the Kalyana-Karnataka human resources, agriculture and cultural association pitched the plan for a 1,200MW hydroelectricity plant in a little-known place called Gollapalli in Raichur district.

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“This project was initially proposed 10 to 15 years ago, but never materialised. We are trying to give it a new lease of life by bringing it back under our action plan for the development of Kalyana Karnataka,” said the association’s president, Basavaraj Patil Sedam.
Telangana will also have to sign off on the project, which will involve diversion of Krishna River’s water from the original course, according to Sedam. Securing this approval may prove to be difficult. A similar project, Mekedatu, has been conceived in the Cauvery basin, and there’s a dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. “Yes, it is a project on the lines of Mekedatu with a balancing reservoir. But we don’t intend to use a single drop of water flowing to Telangana and wish to utilise it for power generation,” Sedam said.
The hydropower plant project is expected to cost between Rs 8,000 crore to Rs 10,000 crore. Only five villages will be submerged for the project, which will largely come up on ‘waste land’. An official in the chief minister’s office said the project was discussed during the meeting with Yediyurappa and its feasibility would be studied. But the energy department and Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd (KPCL) have not yet received any information about it. Additional chief secretary Mahendra Jain and KPCL managing director V Ponnuraj said they were not aware of any such plan. “If there’s an opportunity, we can explore it. At present, we don’t have any such proposal in front of us,” Jain said.
According to officials in the Raichur district administration, a private entity has sought nod to construct a hydroelectric plant in the same vicinity. Another private company runs a 10MW hydropower unit in the same area. “To create a 1,200MW plant, we will have to install huge turbines and divert the flow of the river. We are not sure that such a project can take off,” said the official.
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About the Author
Sandeep Moudgal

Journalist by profession, 15 years in the field with Politics and Policy as forte. He is an Assistant Editor with Bengaluru bureau and Karnataka as his jurisdiction. Has a Masters degree in Ancient History and Archaeology from Mysore University along with a PGDJ from the Asian College of Journalism.

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