GUWAHATI: The Arunachal Pradesh government handed over 12 stalled hydropower projects to Central sector public sector undertakings (PSUs) under the Ministry of Power for execution and rejuvenation by signing several memorandum of agreement (MoA) in a formal ceremony held at Itanagar on Saturday.

“A historic signing of MoAs took place today attracting Rs 1.40 lakh crore worth of investment in our state. As per the agreement, 12 hydropower projects of 11,517MW generating capacity have been allotted to three different central PSUs – NHPC Ltd, SJVN Ltd and NEEPCO Ltd,” Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Kahandu said in a tweet after signing the MoAs.

In this connection, several memorandums of agreement 9MoAs) have been signed in Itanagar on Saturday, in which 12 hydro-electric projects of cumulative installed capacity of about 11,517 MW have been allotted by the state government, to hydro PSUs under the Ministry of Power.

The MoA signing ceremony was attended by the Union Minister for Power RK Singh; Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu, deputy chief minister Chowna Mein; Union power secretary Pankaj Agarwal, and other officials of the Central and state governments.

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Addressing the event, Union power minister RK Singh said that the implementation of these hydropower projects will contribute immensely to the richness of the state.

“The per capita income of the state would become more than that of Maharashtra and Gujarat. All the developed nations including the USA, Canada, Norway etc., have harnessed 80%-90% of their hydropower potential. In India also, the states which harnessed the potential of hydropower have become prosperous. Hydropower is a green source of energy. Its usage will also increase the groundwater level and promote the growth of flora & fauna,” Singh said.

The signing of these MoAs and allotment of these projects to hydro CPSUs shall prove to be a significant step towards harnessing the immense hydroelectric potential of Arunachal Pradesh.

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Of these 12 projects, five projects of 2,620 MW have been allocated by the state government to North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Ltd. (NEEPCO), five projects of 5,097 MW to Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd (SJVN) and the remaining two projects of capacity 3,800 MW to National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC).

These projects were allotted to private sector developers about 15 years ago but remained non-starters due to various reasons.

The state government, therefore, decided to rope in central hydro PSUs to give a push to the languishing projects.

The development of these projects will contribute towards achieving the declared Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) target of achieving 500 GW of non-fossil energy capacity in India by 2030.

Hydro Power will also be an effective contributor to the objective of achieving Net Zero carbon emissions by the year 2070.

These projects are also expected to create huge employment opportunities in the region and boost the local economy as well as foster skill development and technical expertise in the region.

The projects are expected to result in an estimated investment inflow of about Rs 1,26,500 Crores to Arunachal Pradesh.