SRINAGAR: The 260-MW Dulhasti Hydro Electric Project Stage-II in Kishtwar is expected to be completed within 44 months after receiving key statutory and investment approvals, the Union government informed the Rajya Sabha on Monday.
The project will be constructed on the Chenab River, one of the three western rivers allocated to Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty, which India has currently suspended.
Once completed, it is likely to become the first hydropower project on a western river to be finished after India suspended the treaty following the 2025 Pahalgam terror attack.
Replying to a question by Member of Parliament Sajjad Ahmad Kichloo, Minister of State for Power Shripad Naik told Parliament that the Central Electricity Authority approved the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the project on May 26, 2025.
The minister said environmental clearance for the project was granted on January 7, 2026, and that forest clearance is not required because the project does not involve the use of forest land.
The Board of Directors of NHPC Limited granted investment approval for the project on February 20, 2026.
Land acquisition for the project is being undertaken in accordance with the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. The government said all eligible benefits for Project Affected Families (PAFs) have been incorporated in line with the rehabilitation and resettlement scheme prescribed under the Act.
Earlier, NHPC Limited and the Jammu and Kashmir State Power Development Corporation Limited signed a memorandum of understanding on January 3, 2021, to implement the project on a Build-Own-Operate-Transfer basis.
The government said the decision to proceed with the project was based on considerations of operational efficiency, cost-effectiveness, ease of construction and operation, and economies of scale.
It also informed the House that employment has already been provided to project-affected families in connection with the existing Dulhasti Power Station, and there are currently no pending employment cases related to affected families.
The 390-MW Dulhasti Power Station, developed by NHPC Limited, has been operational since April 2007. The project was financed through equity, loans and market borrowings, and the electricity generated is sold at tariffs determined by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission.
According to the government, a significant portion of the revenue generated from the project is used for operation and maintenance, debt servicing and other financial obligations, while NHPC’s earnings from the plant are limited to the return on equity.
