New Delhi: The Centre has asked states to set up Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) for Renewable Energy (RE) projects bid out by them on the lines of the one created by the Central government. In an official order dated March 3, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) said, "State Governments are requested to consider setting up similar mechanism for dispute resolution in respect of renewable energy projects directly bid out by them." The ministry said that the mechanism of dispute resolution committee has helped in expeditious resolution of disputes and based on the recommendations of the DRC, the government has successfully resolved 27 cases so far.
The committee at the Central level deal with disputes between MNRE's RE implementing agencies — Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), NTPC Ltd and NHPC Ltd — and RE developers.
There are three categories of disputes that are resolved by the DRC — all requests for 'Extension of Time due to recognised Force Majeure events, all requests of 'Extension of Time' not covered under the terms of contract and all disputes other than those pertaining to 'Extension of Time' between MNRE's REIAs and RE developers.
The government has set an ambitious target of putting in place 500 GW of RE capacity to meet 50 percent of India's energy needs through non-fossil fuel sources by 2030. In order to facilitate fast capacity addition and commissioning of projects over the next eight years, it is imperative that disputes arising between RE developers and RE agencies bidding out projects are resolved quickly.
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