Company Threatens To Exit Rs 3,700 Crore J&K Project, Cites 'Interference'

The construction company building the 850 MW Rattle Hydropower project in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district announced on Saturday that it may have to abandon the Rs 3,700 crore project due to persistent political interference. 

Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited- MEIL, a Hyderabad-based company, said that it is being forced to hire unskilled workers by local politicians, which is compromising safety and quality of the crucial project over the Chenab river.

"Imagine building a 133 metre high dam, an 850 MW underground power project. But most of the people working on the project have no competence. These workers have been employed in the company through pressure, blackmail and repeatedly stopping work and assaulting officials," said Harpal Singh, Chief Operating Officer of MEIL.

Singh blamed local politicians and MLAs in Kishtwar for creating trouble and appealed to the central and state governments to intervene to ensure smooth construction work. He warned that the company may be forced to abandon the project if local politicians continue to create problems.

"If these people don't let us work, we may have to abandon the project. It will cause massive losses to the company, given the massive investment we have already made in the projects. We have also given a bank guarantee to NHPC," said Singh.

The biggest problem the construction company is facing is the workforce that has been thrust on them. Singh said out of 1434 workers at the Rattle Hydropower project, 960 are from Kishtwar alone. "Most of these local workers are unskilled and inexperienced. Yet, we had to hire them because of political pressure and blackmail," he said.

He warned that with such a workforce, "quality and safety of the project may be compromised and also the timeline for the completion of the project will change".

"Four hydro Projects: Pakaldul, Rattle, Koru and Kawar are running behind schedule in the Kishtwar district because of BJP-sponsored unions who are creating trouble. It's impacted crucial national projects on the Chenab river," Singh said.

On Friday, Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited issued a notice accusing local politicians of instigating people to close the project.

The project had faced a similar situation in 2013, which led to a disruption in work and stalled it for 8 years.

The Rs 3,700-crore project was awarded to Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Ltd in April 2022.

After the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) by the government following the terror attack in Pahalgam in April, construction of power projects had received a major boost.  Since India is no longer bound by the IWT agreement on projects on the Indus system, dams can be built without any objections or clearance from Pakistan.

The trouble started last week after a senior official of the company was assaulted by a mob and his vehicle was stoned.

In the notice, the management has warned about "suspension of Ratle Dam construction activities for an indefinite period".