The Ministry of Energy has directed the office-bearers of the Nalsinghgad Hydropower Project to go visit the Upper Tamakoshi Project rather than to Australia for a study about the hydroelectricity projects.

The directive comes after the project office-bearers planned a visit to Australia to study of big reservoir-type projects that was made public by the media. The Ministry has urged the officials concerned not to go abroad for the study as observation of the under construction 456- Megawatt-capacity Upper Tamakoshi Project within the country itself would save the State expenses.

However, the office-bearers of the Nalsinghgad Development Committee had argued that the visit to Australia would be appropriate as the consultant company that is developing the detailed project report of the project itself was to bear the expenses for the visit.

Energy Minister Janardan Sharma said he has instructed the project office-bearers to go to the Upper Tamakoshi Project site if they wanted to study big reservoir-type hydroelectricity projects.

"A proposal had come to the Ministry including my and the Energy Secretary's names also in the visiting team. I deleted my and the secretary's name. I have also told the other officials of the project to study the projects being constructed in the country rather than going abroad," Minister Sharma said.

The project executive director Moti Bahadur Kunwar, on the other hand, said that their visit to Australia would not incur any cost on the State and the visit has been planned as per the agreement reached in course of preparing the detailed project report itself.

It is stated that the project office-bearers had wanted to visit California in the United States of America but the visit schedule was changed to Australia as it has been snowing in California.

Executive Director Kunwar argued that the visit programme has been made to enhance and make effective the 410-Megawatts-capacity project from the technical perspective. He added that only the proposal of the visit has been made and the visit would not materialise unless the Ministry of Finance gave its approval.

Minister of State for Energy Satya Narayan Bhagat, project chairman Sher Bahadur Shahi, executive director Kunwar, among other officials had been proposed to go on the said visit. RSS