The fate of NTPC’s 520-MW Tapovan-Vishnugad hydel project hangs in balance as India’s largest power company is estimated to have suffered a loss of ₹ 1,500 crore due to damage to the construction caused by recent flash flood in Uttarakhand.
The company, however, told the Bombay Stock Exchange on Monday that the “damage may not be considered material or significant” as per SEBI norms in the light of overall size of the company’s operations and its total capacity and “appropriate insurance cover” was available for the losses. But power minister Raj Kumar Singh said that it was difficult to say when the project can be commissioned. The executives said about 70 per cent of the work had been completed. This is the second setback for the ₹ 13,500-crore project, which had suffered damage in the flash floods of June 2013.
The flash flood in Uttarakhand has resulted in an approximately ₹ 1,500-crore-hit to NTPC Ltd’s 520 MW hydropower project, Tapovan-Vishnugad, according to Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power, RK Singh. The damage to the under-construction, run-of-river project has also made it difficult to ascertain how much time it would take to commission, the minister said. Singh, who visited Tapovan on Monday to assess the extent of the damage at the project site, had said that estimated losses to the project were worth around ₹ 1,500 crore, as per a PTI report. However, the Union minister ruled out any possibility of the project being scrapped, it added. “But there is a question mark now on how long it will take to desilt it, as lakhs of tonnes of silt is lying at the project site, As of now, it is difficult to say when we will be able to resume work at the site, and when the project will be commissioned,” Singh said.
At the same time, the actual damage, including losses to the project, are still being assessed and the amount cited may not be final, a spokesperson of the Ministry of Power said “At present, the focus is on rescue operations,”. The total cost of the project is ₹ 5,867 crore, of which, expenditure till date is ₹ 4,780 crore, the spokesperson added. The project was scheduled to be commissioned in 2022-2023, according to the ministry. The flash flood is expected to have impacted several hydropower projects in the area — Tapovan-Vishnugad and the 13.2 MW run-of-river Rishi Ganga Power Project were among the most severely impacted. NTPC, meanwhile, informed the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Monday that the impact of the damage to Tapovan-Vishnugad “may not be considered material”, as per regulations of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The flood has impacted a part of the project, but “appropriate insurance cover” is available for the loss and damage caused, it said. “However, considering the total size of operations of NTPC Limited (present standalone commercial capacity 51,310 MW and group commercial capacity 63,925 MW), the impact of above event on the company as a whole may not be considered material in terms of Para B of Part A of Schedule III of SEBI (LODR), Regulations, 2015.” “We wish to also inform that appropriate insurance cover is available for the loss / damage caused, including unfortunate loss of human lives,” OM Metal Infra Projects, which was among two companies contracted for the Tapovan-Vishnugad project.