Updated on: Thursday, March 24, 2011
India's first hydro power engineering college would be set up at Bilaspur, the town which was submerged by Bhakra Dam in late 1960s and a new township was built.
The Union Power Minister is likely to lay the foundation stone of the College on April 27, Chief Minister P. K.Dhumal said Bilaspur.
The hydro engineering college is being set up jointly by National Hydropower Corporation (NHPC) and National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC).
Dhumal said hydropower potential was a major resource of the state and the government has taken major initiatives to harness the 23,000MW identified hydropower potential in government, joint and private sectors.
He said that with commissioning of ongoing projects in next three years, the total power generation of the state would reach 15,000MW and revenue of the state would be augmented substantially.
Later unveiling the statue of former President of NGOs Federation, Romesh Chand at Bilaspur, Dhumal said three percent population of the state was in the government service and the liability on payment of salaries and other benefits was estimated to cost Rs 5581 crore to the government during the next year, which was 32 per cent of state's total budget.
Dhumal said that 13th Finance Commission had under-assessed the committed liabilities and applied the same norms to all states and capped the expenditure on salaries, pensions, interest payment and loan repayment at 35 per cent, which hit a state like Himachal Pradesh where the committed liability on these heads was almost 100 per cent more.