(a) whether there is any proposal under consideration of the Government to merge all public sector hydro power generating plants/companies with NHPC;
(b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor; and
(c) the steps to be taken by the Government in this regard and to increase the generating capacity of Hydro power in the country?
THE MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR POWER, COAL AND NEW & RENEWABLE ENERGY ( SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL )
(a) & (b) : Presently, there is no proposal to merge the public sector hydro power plants/companies.
(c) : As regards steps taken by the Government to increase the generating capacity of Hydro Power in the country, a target of 10,897 MW hydro capacity addition has been fixed for the 12th Plan. Other steps, inter-alia, include encouragement through Hydro Power Policy, National Resettlement & Rehabilitation Policies, National Tariff Policy etc. Further, the Government regularly monitors and reviews the implementation of various hydro projects and has also set up a Power Project Monitoring Panel (PPMP) to independently follow up and monitor the progress of hydro projects.