Power substation in Surajkund gets forest clearance after four years

Bijendra Ahlawat

Faridabad, November 14

The 66-KV power substation project in the Surajkund area of Aravalli hills here, which has been in a limbo for several years, has finally cleared the hindrance of the Environment and Forest NOC, said sources in the Power Department. The Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam Limited (HVPN) is scheduled to take up the work of the substation, which was announced way back in 2015.

“The NOC for the project, costing around Rs 30 crore, was sought from the Department of Environment and Forest in 2018. It has taken four long years to get this approval. The announcement was made by the CM at a function here in June 2015,” said a source.

Claiming that though one hectare of land had been allotted by the Municipal Corporation Faridabad (MCF) in 2018 on the main Surajkund road, the condition of clearance from the Environment and Forest Department had been pending since then. As a result, no work could start on the ground,’’ said an official. He said while it may be perhaps be the only substation project in the district which had taken so much time to start, it was mainly due to the fact that the land was located in the region that came under the PLPA and any construction here required NOC from the Environment and Forest Department. The substation was likely to augment the power supply in over three dozen residential and commercial areas having a population of over three lakh.

The localities which are to be benefitted from the project include Sectors 21, 45, 46, Greenfields Colony, Dayalbagh, Charmswood Enclave, Eros Garden, Green Valley, Mewla Maharajpur, Lakadpur village and Gurukul Basti, besides other establishments, including some hotels and residential societies. The region is faced with overloading and tripping due to increased demand and a long distance between the feeder and the points of supply and distribution, it is claimed.

“The tender process for the project is expected to be started soon to ensure its completion in the given time frame,” said Amit Maan, Executive Engineer, HVPN. He added that the cost of land amounting to around Rs 8 crore would be additional.

Tender process to start soon

The tender process for the project is expected to start soon to ensure its completion in the given time frame. — Amit Maan, executive engineer,HVPN