Srinagar, Sep 2: The multi-billion-dollar Sawalkote Hydroelectric Power Project in Jammu and Kashmir has once again hit a stumbling block, with NHPC Limited cancelling the international tender that was floated only last month.
According to a corrigendum uploaded on the e-procurement portal, the tender for “Lot-1 Package: Planning, Design and Engineering (PDE) works for execution of 1856 MW Sawalkot Hydro Project located near Sidhu village in Ramban district” has been withdrawn.
The notice, dated August 11, cites only “administrative reasons/issues” as the basis for cancellation, without offering further explanation.
The cancellation comes barely two weeks after NHPC had issued the global tender on July 29, hailing it as the formal start of execution works after decades of delay.
The Rs 200-crore package was meant to cover critical design and engineering phases before shifting to large-scale civil works.
A senior official, while confirming the withdrawal, declined to elaborate on the administrative hurdles. “This is a procedural pause, not abandonment. Sawalkote remains very much on the priority list,” the official said, requesting anonymity.
The setback follows a series of high-level approvals that had rekindled hopes for the project.
Earlier, the Union Environment Ministry’s Forest Advisory Committee cleared the diversion of over 847 hectares of forest land, removing a key bottleneck.
The Jammu and Kashmir administration had also declared the project as “mission mode,” with assurances of expedited clearances.
The 1856 MW Sawalkote project is the largest hydroelectric scheme ever planned in J&K and has been in the pipeline since the late 1990s.
With a projected cost of Rs 22,700 crore, potentially rising to over Rs 30,000 crore due to delays, the project promises to generate nearly 8000 million units of electricity annually, transforming the region’s energy landscape.
Beyond development, Sawalkote has acquired strategic significance.
In the aftermath of the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 25 tourists, India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan, citing national security imperatives.
Since the Chenab River, a western river under the treaty, is the lifeline of Sawalkote, the project is viewed in New Delhi as central to asserting India’s water rights.
Officials insist that the cancellation of the initial tender does not signal a retreat.
“Large projects of this scale often face procedural resets. The tender will likely be reissued after internal reviews,” a senior Power Development Department official said.
Still, the fresh delay has drawn concern from environmental groups and affected communities.
While NHPC has committed to compensatory afforestation across 2115 hectares of degraded forest, activists argue that the fragile Himalayan ecology and local livelihoods remain at risk.
For now, Sawalkote once again finds itself in limbo, caught between the promise of powering J&K’s future and the recurring reality of bureaucratic and political hurdles.
