COMMENTARY
INTERVIEW
SPECIALS
CHAT
ARCHIVES

Private party on verge of taking over hydroelectric project

The decision to hand over the Bhandara hydroelectric power station to Dodson Lindblock of the United States is in the final stages, with the power purchase agreement and a green signal from the state finance ministry needed, both considered a mere formality. The project, currently under the Maharashtra State Electricity Board, is closed at present due to technical snags.

The plant, with a capacity of 12 megawatts, will totally cost Rs 360 million and Dodson Lindblock will be given 15 days to complete the project. The state government will contribute Rs 125 million to the total cost.

Incidentally, Dodson Lindblock is owned by a person of Indian origin, Vikram Vithal Rajadhyaksha, now a resident of Ohio in the US. An engineer from the Indian Institute of Technology and a board member of Cincinnati University, Rajadhyaksha undertakes defence projects in the US. He is particularly renowned in the field of road constructions.

Former irrigation minister Mahadev Shivankar had fully supported the project, and Development Secretary M D Pendse has expressed hope that if the project is successful, then the Chaskaman, Dham, and Kanher canal projects besides the Kadva, Kasanur and Shahanur dam projects can also be completed in a like fashion.

If the state government takes a policy decision regarding such small capacity power projects, then a large portion of the water that enter the Arabian Sea could be successfully tapped to produce power on a small scale and at cheaper rates.

Compiled and translated from the Marathi media by Prasanna Zore