North –East, ‘The Power House of India’: Prospects and Problems

Abstract

NorthEastern region of India is one of the potential Hydro-Power regions of the country. This region consists of eight states; Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur and Sikkim. India's vision to be a Developed Nation within 2020 (Vision 2020) is very much depended on uninterrupted supply of power and the NorthEastern region would play a vital role on it. North Eastern Region is enriched with huge water resources carried by the Brahmaputra-Barak and Irrawaddy river systems. The surface water resource of the region is near about 652.3 billion cubic meters that shares 34% of country's total water wealth whereas this entire region occupy only 8% of Indian land mass. Hydro potential of this region is 63257M.W, only 1911 megawatts has been harnessed so far which is only 3.02 % of its' hydro potential. Harnessing this huge hydro potential, NorthEast could become, 'The Power House of India'. This paper explores the history & growth of hydro power projects, present scenario of power generation, consumption and distribution patterns of the NorthEast India with highlighting the prospects and problems.