Shanan Powerhouse

About Shanan Powerhouse:

• Location: It is located in Joginder Nagar in the Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh.
• Commissioned in 1932, the powerhouse was constructed as per a 99-year lease executed between Raja Jogendra Sen, the then king of Mandi, and Col BC Batty, Chief Engineer of the Punjab Government, in 1925.
• This powerhouse was constructed against the backdrop of dense deodar forests.
• It is one of the oldest powerhouses of the country, which used to feed the entire undivided Punjab, Lahore and Delhi before Independence.
• After the reorganisation of states in 1966, the Shanan powerhouse was given to Punjab by the Centre as the lease agreement, signed in 1925 was yet to expire.
• The project originally was of 48 MW capacity, but the Punjab government enhanced its capacity to 60 MW in 1982. Later, 50 MW more was added to make its capacity 110 MW.
• The main attraction of the hydro project is the four-stage haulage trolley service. It was basically constructed for carrying construction material of Shanan powerhouse from Jogindernagar to Barot. It is a unique type of trolley based on pulley system with no engine, steering wheel or no gears or brakes.

 

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Q1) What is a lease agreement?

A lease is a contract outlining the terms under which one party agrees to rent an asset—in this case, property—owned by another party. It guarantees the lessee, also known as the tenant, use of the property and guarantees the lessor (the property owner or landlord) regular payments for a specified period in exchange.

Source: Shanan project can generate ₹200 cr annually: Himachal CM