Punjab govt to construct Shahpurkandi Dam: CM

CHANDIGARH: Shahpurkandi Dam is proposed to be constructed in Gurdaspur district of Punjab with a generation capacity of 168 megawatt (MW), Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said on Wednesday.

Replying to a question by Akali MLA Dalbir Singh in the state assembly here, he said the project envisages water utilisation of river Ravi for power generation and irrigation.

"It is proposed to be located 11 km downstream of Ranjit Sagar Dam and 8 km upstream of Madhopur headworks", he said.

The reservoir of Shahpurkandi Dam Project is proposed to act as a balacing reservoir and utilise the releases from Ranjit Sagar Dam to fulfill the irrigation requirements of various commands through irrigation canals like Ravi canal, Kashmir canal and UBDC canal.

On completion of Shahpur Kandi Dam Project, the power plants at Ranjit Sagar Dam Project can run to meet the peaking power requirement, he said.

The total estimated cost of the project is Rs 2,320 crore, including the Interest During Construction (IDC) of Rs 375 crore.

Of the total cost, the state government would provide Rs 245 crore for irrigation components, whereas the remaining amount would be contributed by Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB), Badal said.

The PSEB has applied for a loan of Rs 1,987 crore to the Rural Electrification Corporation to fund the project, but the same has not yet been approved, he said.

Though PSEB has made a provision of Rs 348 crore in its annual budget for the year 2007-08, the state government had made a provision of Rs 98 crore in its budget for 2007-08.

The project is likely to be completed within four years, after the requisite funds are provided, he said.

In reply to an another question by Lal Singh of Congress, the Chief Minister said the state government had asked the PSEB to suggest suitable locations to set up a Nuclear Power Plant in consultation with Nuclear Power Corporation of India and the Central Electricity Authority.