The project, located in Bilaspur district bordering Sundernagar had been hanging fire for the past over six years. Though the previous Congress Government had proposed to privatise the project and also invited global bids for its execution but the BJP-HVC government on return to power declined to accept a single bid approved by the earlier government.

Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, who had succeeded in making Union Energy Minister P.R.Kumarmangalam to get 2100 mw Parbati project transferred to National Hydro-Electric Project Corporation (NHPC) had also offered Kol Dam project to be executed on the same line. ``Now since NTPC has also been allowed by the Centre to execute hydel projects, we are negotiating with the organisation for taking over the project,'' a senior government official told ENS.

In fact, the project had been shuttling between the private sector and public sector without much breakthrough. First, the state government did not give much needed priority to the project and later process for inviting global bids took a long time to complete the exercise. ``Even now if the government proposes to advertise the project, after a private party's bid had been approved, the project will get further pushed to at least one year,'' fears former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.

But, the Chief Minister is keen that instead of taking a longer route of re-advertising the project or inviting pre-qualification bids for privatisation, agencies like NTPC could be the best option. He feels that agreement signed with the NHPC on Parbati project should be model for handing over bigger projects to the public sector agencies.

Former Communication Minister and HVC president Sukh Ram, who held the power portfolio in the Dhumal ministry for a few months, had also favoured handing over of the project to the NHPC or other agency of its model. Sukh Ram had also advised the state government to direct all private entrepreneurs, who had signed MOUs with the government on nine other projects, either expedite the execution work or leave the project for exploring other alternatives for speedy execution work. The work on Chamera-II project had also been delayed inordinately.

According to Dhumal, an incentive scheme introduced by the government to give additional benefits to the private sector, if it completes the project before actual deadline, would give a new impetus to the power generation programme.

Meanwhile, the state government has clarified that four states, which were partners in execution of the Parbati project under earlier joint venture deal would not suffer in any manner and there share power had been protected. Except Gujarat, the states of Delhi, Rajasthan and Haryana would get their agreed share without making any investment.

``We had written to the Chief Ministers of all partner states about the state government's move to hand over the project to the NHPC as there was little headway on earlier joint venture agreement. Since none of the states, wrote us back to convey their objection to the move, the state government succeeded in clinching a viable deal,'' HPSEB chairman-cum- secretary, Power, A.K.Goswami told ENS.