Extreme weather events in Uttarakhand have put 15 hydropower projects (HPP) worth over Rs 70,000 crore at risk, says a report by the think tank Climate Risk Horizons.
The report, ‘Navigating climate-related financial risks’, has assessed the vulnerability of basins, construction of hydro projects and their shooting costs due to frequent climate-related disasters.
“15 HPPs of 10,678 MW with ₹70,150.30 crore investment have been facing formidable challenges posed by natural hazards, including intense rainfall, landslides, flash floods, glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF) and droughts,” said the report released on Wednesday. Researchers have identified Joshimath-Srinagar basin as the most vulnerable, followed by Tehri-Uttarkashi and Pithoragarh-Bageshwar basins where all the HPPs in various stages of development “are at risk of being destroyed or delayed by extreme weather events.”
The report was based on a case study of the 2021 flash floods in Chamoli, which destroyed Tapovan-Vishnugad hydropower project. “The initial project cost of Rs 2,978 crore has more than doubled due to the flash floods,” the report said. “We need to rethink how and where we build these projects, says Sagar Asapur, lead author.
Vulnerable Researchers have identified Joshimath-Srinagar basin as the most vulnerable, followed by Tehri-Uttarkashi and Pithoragarh-Bageshwar where HPPs are at risk of being destroyed or delayed by extreme weather events ‘‘We need to rethink how and where we build these projects, with resilience to future climate conditions as a top priority,” says Sagar Asapur, lead author of the report.