Friday, Oct 17, 2003 HASSAN OCT. 16. The Kempuhole Hydel Power Project (KHPP) taken up by the Bangalore-based International Power Corporation Private Ltd. (IPCPL) commenced hydel power generation here on Thursday. The Managing Director of IPCPL, A.V. Raja Ram, the Technical Director, M.S. Raghavendra, the President of the All-India Builders' and Contractors' Association, Chinnaraju, and some local leaders witnessed the commissioning of the first unit that has a capacity to generate 6 MW of power. Later, Mr. Raghavendra told presspersons that the second unit with the same capacity would be commissioned by November 15 and the third unit by June 2004. He said the Kempuhole Hydel Power Project was completed in a record time of one year. Power was being generated by harnessing water from the Kempuhole in the upper reaches of the Western Ghats near Sakleshpur. He claimed that the scheme was the first of its kind in India and there would be little disturbance to the environment. The combined catchment area of the scheme was 250 sq. km. and the annual rainfall in the area varied between 3,500 mm. and 4,500 mm. He said according to an assessment, IPCPL would get water in Kempuhole for nearly 200 days a year. The Rs. 50-crore, 12-MW (2X6 MW) unit had a weir of 110 metres. The height of the weir at the deepest point in the river was 18 metres and the FRL was 340 metres. The IPCPL had acquired 4.5 hectares of forest land in the Western Ghats and power would be generated between June and November when there was adequate water in the river, he said. He also said that it would cost Rs. 15 crore for the IPCPL to commission its third unit. The IPCPL had signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd. (KPTCL) to sell power at Rs. 2.90 per unit and power would be transmitted to the power grid at Sakleshpur through 124 transmitting towers, which had been erected on a stretch of 29 km. in the ghat section. The company had obtained power generation equipment for the power station from the Jyothi Heavy Electrical Company in Baroda. A pickup dam had been constructed 930 metres away from the power station and water would be brought through penstocks. He claimed that though the company had acquired 4.5 hectares of land to set up the project, it had used only two hectares. Only 350 trees had been cut for the purpose. He claimed that the company had taken all steps to minimise the felling of trees in the Western Ghats. On local people's allegations that the company had denied compensation for using private land, Mr. Raghavendra said they had already deposited compensation money with the KPTCL, which would be distributed to the persons concerned in due course. In few cases, the company had directly paid compensation. The IPCPL had paid Rs. 6.5 crore to the Forest Department for afforestion, he added.