SHIMLA: In its bid to generate income to feed its empty coffers, the Sukhu government has imposed Water Cess on 172 Hydropower Power Projects in Himachal Pradesh. The government expects to generate an income of Rs 4000 Crore annually from the water Cess.
The state government is bringing in a legislation- Himachal Pradesh Water Cess on Hydropower Generation Bill, 2023 in the coming Budget session of the state assembly.
The government has implemented the Himachal Pradesh Water Cess on Hydropower Generation Ordinance on March 10, 2023. The state cabinet has already given its nod for the Bill.
How much the water cess will be on a power project, the government will map the magnitude of the project.
The government hopes to generate an income of Rs 4000 Crore annually from the water cess on power projects. The small power projects of 5 MW capacity might get exemption from the water cess, sources said.
But a Himalayan question is: Will the proposed Waree cess sustain in the court of law in case the power companies move the court, considering that water resources figure in the entry 56 of Union List? question the experts.
It has an impact on general public also because generation cost per unit will increase, opines Manoj Kumar, a hydropower expert based in Shimla.
Power producers are pleading that they are paying royalty on power to the stare government.
On the other hand, another hot concern is: there are also power companies which hardly bother to maintain the “Environmental Flow(E-Flow) mainly in lean winter months.
The E-flow makes its mandatory for them to release 15 per cent of the current river flow downstream.
The government has no mechanism to ensure the E-flow to keep the aquatic life and river basin alive.
But official spokesperson of the state government informed here today that the State Government has imposed water cess only on hydro-power projects of the state and it will not put any financial burden on the common people.
The water cess was aimed to increase the state’s revenue and strengthen its economy, so that sufficient funds would be available for welfare schemes.
The Sukhu government has justified the move to impose the water cess on hydropower citing the examples of the neighbouring states of Uttarakhand and Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Experts also justify the water cess as the government has handed over its water sources to the power developers which are making good money from these resources.
They government has identified over 172 hydro power projects to be brought under the purview of water cess.
The water cess will be collected by the State Government from the hydro power projects keeping in view the size of the project and other parameters.
The implementation of the water cess will not have any financial implications on the general public of the state as the state government will collect this cess only from these hydro-power projects.
