HP CM lays foundation stone of 10MW solar project in Kutlehar

Shimla: Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Friday laid the foundation stone of 10MW solar power project at Aghlor in Kutlehar assembly constituency of Una district.
The project to be built on 19 hectares of land would be completed within three months. It would produce 22.73 million units of power every year, generating Rs 8 crore income to the state coffers.This project would also help reduce 791 tonnes of carbon emission.
Sukhu said that it was the second solar power project in Una after the 32MW Pekhubela project that was completed in a record time of six months and would generate an income of Rs 20 crore.
He said that despite being a power surplus state, Himachal Pradesh purchases electricity from open market between October to March by spending around Rs 1,500 crore as power production in hydroelectric projects minimises during the winter owing to receding water level in rivers.
Sukhu said the state govt has signed an agreement with the Oil India for production green hydrogen and emphasis was being laid on harnessing solar energy. The govt was also encouraging harnessing solar power in the private sector as well and the target had been fixed to harness 200 MW solar energy in one year.
He said that the state was getting only 12% royalty in hydro power projects which was not sufficient. Although SJVNL wanted to install solar power project at Aghlor but the state govt decided to commission it on its own. The govt was resolute to manage finances for various developmental projects and make them self-reliant, said the chief minister. He said that the previous BJP govt headed by Jai Ram Thakur plundered the resources of the state while the present govt was striving hard to safeguard it. He said that remarkable decisions had been taken up during the last one-and-a-half years for welfare of people and these steps had also resulted in earning an additional income of Rs 2,200 crore.
He said that BJP conspired to destabilise an elected government in the state but people have rejected the politics of horse-trading. “Now, people were asking the independent MLAs as to why they submitted their resignation. If they were not feeling comfortable with the Congress govt, they should have sided with BJP instead of imposing byelection and unnecessary expenditure on it,” he said.