Rehab and resettlement panel formed for Luhri hydro electric project

Shimla: For the construction of the 210-MW Luhri Hydro Electric Project Stage-I, the Himachal govt has constituted a rehabilitation and resettlement committee to monitor and review the progress and implementation of the rehabilitation and resettlement scheme and carry out post-implementation social audits in consultation with the gram sabhas in the rural and municipalities in the urban areas.
The Luhri Hydro Electric Project is a run-of-river project located on the Satluj near Nirath village and is spread over Shimla and Kullu districts. The project has the potential of generating 758 million units (MU) of electric energy in a 90% dependable year.
The sanction order for investment approval for the project was issued by the Union ministry of power on Nov 20, 2020 with the cabinet committee on economic affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approving an investment of Rs 1,810.56 crore for the project.
Foundation stone for the 210 MW Luhri Stage-1 Hydro Electric Project was laid by PM Modi on Dec 27, 2021. Through a recent notification, Himachal governor Shiv Pratap Shukla constituted the rehabilitation and resettlement committee for the acquisition of land for the construction of the stage I of the Luhri project for Shimla district. The committee will be headed by the Shimla DC. Initially, the Luhri project was contemplated as a single stage project and implementation agreement with Himachal govt was signed on Oct 27, 2008. Accordingly, three stages – Luhri Hydro Electric Project Stage-I (210 MW), Luhri Stage-II (172 MW) and Sunni Dam Hydro Electric Project (382 MW) – were envisaged to harness the hydel potential of the Satluj river between Rampur and Koldam. On Aug 29, 2017, state govt reallocated all three projects on ‘standalone basis’ to the SJVN and the memorandum of understanding was signed on Sept 25, 2019.