In Jammu and Kashmir, the Government informed the Legislative Assembly on Saturday that only 23.54 per cent of the hydropower potential of the Union Territory has been harnessed so far. Our Correspondent reports that in a written reply, Chief Minister Omar Abdulla, who holds the charge of the Power Development Department, revealed that J&K has an estimated hydropower potential of 18 thousand megawatts. Out of this, 14 thousand and 867 megawatts of hydropower have been identified. Mr Abdulla further informed the House that only 3540.15 MWs (23. 54 per cent of identified potential) have been harnessed to date.

The Chief Minister also disclosed that the erstwhile state of J&K has an estimated solar power potential of 111 GW with the majority of this potential concentrated in Ladakh UT. The Minister said that due to the land-intensive nature of mega-sized solar power projects, their development in J&K has not been possible.