HP govt to get 18% royalty from Karcham-Wangtoo hydel project
Shimla, July 17 -- As a major relief, the Supreme Court has issued directions to JSW Energy Company to pay 18% royalty to the Himachal government from Karcham-Wangtoo hydroelectric project in Kinnaur. As per the directions, JSW energy company will have to pay 18% royalty to the state instead of 12% from this 1045 MW capacity project.
A spokesperson of the state government said that with this decision, the government would get an annual additional income of about Rs 150 crore. Apart from this, the decision of the Supreme Court would also be a milestone for other projects that have completed 12 years and the state government hopes that this decision would bring an income of more than Rs 250 crore per year to the treasury.
He said that Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu took this issue on priority personally and made determined efforts to ensure the state's rights over the natural resources of the state. This decision would not only increase the income of the state, but also give the people of Himachal the real benefit of their resources.
This decision of the Supreme Court cancels the order of the Himachal Pradesh High Court in May 2024, in which the company was allowed to pay only 12% royalty. According to the agreement between the state government and the company in the year 1999, royalty was fixed as 12% for the first 12 years of the project and then 18% for the remaining 28 years. After the project started operating in September 2011, the company paid 12 percent royalty for 12 years, but refused to pay an additional 6 percent royalty from September 2023. The dispute reached the Himachal Pradesh High Court and the decision was given in favour of the company. The state government challenged the High Court's decision in the Supreme Court.
Advocate general Anup Rattan said, "The SC had clearly said that the contract of state be overridden by electricity regulatory authority. The JSW Energy firm had unilaterally stopped paying the 18% royalty after the high court order".
He added, "So now the state can proceed to recover the balance payment from the JSW."...
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