After 4 Decades of Delay, Sawlakote Power Project Gets Green Nod in Jammu Kashmir

SRINAGAR: After nearly forty years of uncertainty, India’s 1,856-megawatt Sawlakote hydroelectric project on the Chenab River in Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir has finally received environmental clearance from the Centre.

The massive run-of-the-river project, to be built by the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) at an estimated cost of Rs 31,380 crore, will be one of the largest hydroelectric schemes in the Chenab basin. Spread across Ramban, Reasi and Udhampur districts, it is designed to generate about 7,534 million units of electricity annually, making it the biggest hydropower project in the Union Territory once commissioned.

The project had been stalled for decades due to forest clearance and rehabilitation challenges. It was first taken up for consideration by the Union Environment Ministry in 2016 and 2017 but failed to progress. A new memorandum of understanding between the Jammu and Kashmir Power Development Corporation and NHPC was signed on January 3, 2021, setting the stage for revival.

According to official documents, the project involves the construction of a 192.5-metre-high roller-compacted concrete gravity dam and an underground powerhouse equipped with turbines, generators and other mechanical infrastructure. It will require a total of 1,401.350 hectares of land, including 847.17 hectares of forest and 554.18 hectares of non-forest areas.

As per the Environment Ministry’s expert appraisal committee, around 13 villages and about 1,500 families in Ramban and Gool Sangaldan tehsils will be affected by land acquisition. The NHPC has submitted a comprehensive rehabilitation and resettlement plan, promising housing, livelihood assistance and skill development measures for displaced families.

Officials said the project’s location has been carefully assessed to minimise ecological impact. No national park or wildlife sanctuary falls within a 10-kilometre radius of the site, and the nearest protected area, Kishtwar High-Altitude National Park, lies nearly 63 kilometres away.

The Sawlakote project is expected to play a key role in stabilising Jammu and Kashmir’s power supply and strengthening India’s hydropower generation capacity in the western Himalayas. It also marks a renewed push to fully harness the hydropower potential of the Chenab basin, long recognised as one of the most challenging yet vital components of India’s northern energy infrastructure.