SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir government has told the Legislative Assembly that there is currently no proposal under consideration to take back the existing NHPC power projects, while three major hydropower projects with a combined capacity of 2,356 MW are either under appraisal or construction under agreements with the central power utility.
The disclosure came in a government reply to an Assembly question on the status of hydropower projects being operated or developed by NHPC in Jammu and Kashmir.
The government said that six major NHPC power stations currently operating in J&K have a combined installed capacity of 2,250 MW. These include Salal, Uri-I, Dulhasti, Sewa-II, Uri-II and Kishanganga.
On the question of whether any proposal had been taken up with the Government of India regarding the return of power projects to J&K, the Power Development Department said: “At present, no such proposal is under consideration.”
The reply, however, detailed three other major projects entrusted to NHPC for implementation on a Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) basis for a period of 40 years.
These include the 1,856-MW Sawalkot Hydroelectric Project, the 240-MW Uri-I Stage-II project and the 260-MW Dulhasti Stage-II project.
The government said Sawalkot was entrusted to NHPC under an agreement signed between NHPC and the Jammu and Kashmir Power Development Corporation Limited (JKPDCL) on December 11, 2021. The project is presently under appraisal and approval by the Government of India.
For Uri-I Stage-II and Dulhasti Stage-II, implementation agreements between NHPC and JKPDCL were signed on March 27, 2026. Both projects are currently under construction, according to the reply.
The government said the three projects were entrusted to NHPC on the BOOT model for 40 years. Under the arrangement, the projects are to be transferred back to Jammu and Kashmir after completion of the stipulated period from the date of their commercial operation.
The development comes amid continuing public and political debate over the role of NHPC in Jammu and Kashmir’s hydropower sector. Kashmir Life had reported on September 24, citing another government reply, that J&K had received Rs 5,537.32 crore in direct financial benefits from six NHPC projects during the five financial years from 2021-22 to 2025-26, through water usage charges and its entitlement of free power and the Local Area Development Fund.
The six operational projects covered by that data have a combined installed capacity of 2,250 MW.
The latest Assembly reply therefore indicates that while there is no proposal presently before the government for taking back the existing NHPC projects, the Union Territory is simultaneously proceeding with arrangements under which additional major projects are being implemented by NHPC on a fixed-term BOOT basis.
The 2,250 MW capacity of the six existing NHPC stations, together with the 2,356 MW capacity of Sawalkot, Uri-I Stage-II and Dulhasti Stage-II, underlines the scale of NHPC’s role in J&K’s hydropower sector. The latter three projects, however, are at different stages of development, with Sawalkot still under appraisal and approval and the other two under construction.
