Green nod to Sawalkot Hydropower project

Run-of-the-river project to use Chenab water

- JITENDRA CHOUBEY @ New Delhi

AMID the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has recommended clearance for the Sawalkot hydropower project on the Chenab River in the Indus basin over which Pakistan claimed full rights under the treaty.

The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the MoEFCC evaluated the proposal on September 26 and noted that the 1,856-MW project, to be built at ₹31,380 crore, spans 1,401.35 hectares, which includes 847.17 hectares of forest land and 554.18 hectares of non-forest land. The project had previously received Stage-I forest clearance on July 10 this year.