Mumbai: A CAG audit report on setting up small hydro projects on public-private partnership (PPP) basis has said that due to improper planning and inadequate monitoring, the objective of harnessing green power with the help of private sector was largely defeated. The report, which was presented in the state Legislative Assembly on Tuesday, said that as against the estimated installed capacity of 417.85 MW, only 36.85 MW installed capacity was achieved. The report on implementation of small hydro projects on PPP basis covering the period 2013-18 revealed that out of 121 sites identified by the Water Resources Department, the feasibility study of 61 sites (installed capacity: 266.87 MW) had not been completed at the time of identification of sites, and 27 sites (installed capacity: 78.65 MW) were dropped for being "financially non-feasible".
In respect of the six selected commissioned projects, only one project was commissioned within the scheduled time and five projects were commissioned after delays ranging from 17 months to 63 months, the report said. “There was time overrun ranging from 39 to 53 months in respect of the two ongoing projects due to non-completion of dam and land handed over to the developer was not in the name of the department. The projected annual power generation was not achieved, among other things, due to release of lesser volume of water,” said the report.
“Had the planning and monitoring been better, the outcome could have been different,” it added. The CAG has, however, recommended completion of the feasibility study in respect of the listed projects in a time-bound manner. “The government may address the issue of less release of water so as to have fair terms for PPP projects. There was a need to focus on the issues on hand and work out a solution to take the project forward or short close the same if a feasible solution was possible,” it recommended.
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