Northeastern states get Rs 4,136 crore equity support for hydropower projects

New Delhi, August 28

The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Power to provide Central Financial Assistance (CFA) to northeastern (NE) states towards their equity participation for development of hydroelectric projects through the joint venture collaboration between state entities and central PSUs.

This scheme, which was cleared by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday, has an outlay of ~4,136 crore, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told mediapersons.

He said it would be implemented from 2024-25 to 2031-32, where a cumulative hydro capacity of about 15,000 MW would be supported under the scheme. It would be funded through 10 per cent Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) for the northeastern region from the total outlay of the Union Power Ministry.

The grant towards equity portion of the state governments of the northeastern region would be capped at 24 per cent of the total project equity subject to a maximum of ~750 crore per project. The cap of ~750 crore for each project would be revisited, if required, on a case-to-case basis, the minister said.

The ratio of equity of the central PSUs and the state governments in the joint venture would be maintained at the time of disbursing of the grant.

The CFA would be limited to only viable hydroelectric projects and the states would be required to waive off or reimburse SGST to make the project viable.

With the introduction of this scheme, participation of state governments in hydro development would be encouraged and risk and responsibilities would be shared in a more equitable manner. Issues such as land acquisition, rehabilitation & resettlement and local law and order would be mitigated with the help of states, Vaishnaw further said.

The scheme will play a significant role in harnessing the hydro power potential of the northeastern region. It will bring huge investment in the region and would provide a large number of direct employment to the local people along with indirect employment, entrepreneurial opportunities through transportation, tourism and small-scale business.

Enhancement of Agri Infra Fund okayed

• In a move aimed at enhancing the income of farmers and encouraging them to add value to their produce, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the proposal to enhance the scope of the Agricultural Infrastructure Fund (AIF) by including post harvesting activities under it.
• The move will be beneficial for millions of fruit growing farmers. After the cabinet meeting, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday said the AIF, which was introduced by the Centre in 2020 with a corpus of ~1 lakh crore, will now include creation of post-harvesting infrastructure for fruit farmers like cleaning, packaging and cold storage, which were not present under the fund.