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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh dedicated the Dulhasti hydro electric power project to the nation on Saturday, April 26, 2008. The 390 MW Jammu & Kashmir hydro project had been constantly hit by delays and cost escalation. The project, built on River Chenab, was initiated by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi way back in 1983.
The project is a significant one as apart from providing cheap electricity it has also generated employment opportunities for hundreds and thousands of locals. Jammu & Kashmir is entitled to 12 percent of royalty on the power generated by the project. Electricity generated from this project will be sold to neighboring states like Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh, Rajasthan and Uttaranchal.
The Dulhasti project was undertaken in collaboration with five French partners. It was initiated with a budget of Rs 183 crore but the final sum which has been spent on the project is Rs 5,228 crore. The project withstood terrorist threats as well, as a French Engineer was abducted from the project site in 1991, which stopped the project for five years. The project was finally resumed in 1996 and the abducted Engineer was also released.
