States seek extension up to December 2025 to complete Intra State GEC Phase I
Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh have sought extension up to December 2025 to complete projects under the Intra-State Transmission System Green Energy Corridor Phase-I (InSTS GEC-I).
These four States had already been granted an extension till June 2025 to complete projects under the critical renewable energy evacuation infrastructure initiative.
The scheme is implemented by the State Transmission Utilities (STUs) of the eight Renewable Energy (RE) rich States in the country, said Minister of State for New & Renewable Energy Shripad Naik, in a written response to a query in Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
“Out of the 8 States, 4 have completed all the projects, viz. Rajasthan, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The States of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh have been granted extension up to June 2025; however, these states have requested for further extension up to December 2025,” he added.
Panel flags delay
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Energy has also been highlighting the delays in GEC, particularly under Phase-I of the scheme. Recently, it noted that InSTS GEC-I has been given multiple extensions, but the work is still pending.
Last year, the Ministry said that the target under this scheme — 9,767 circuit km (CKM) of transmission lines and 22,689 MegaVolt-Amperes (MVA) transformation capacity of substations in eight States — would be completed by March, 2025, it added.
However, the Ministry informed in February 2025 that four states have sought extension up to June, 2025.
These are part of a report on action taken by the MNRE on the panel’s observations and recommendations on Demands for Grants for FY26. Government’s response to the observations/ recommendations were received on May 9, 2025.
“Though, the committee recognises Right of Way (RoW) and land acquisition as major issues in laying of transmission lines and setting up of substations, they are also of the view that long delays should not become a regular feature in every transmission project,” it added.
As transmission infrastructure is critical for timely evacuation of power from renewable energy projects, the committee urged the Ministry to closely coordinate with State Governments as well as other stakeholders to resolve the issues being faced.
In its response, the Ministry pointed out that phase-I of GEC has been delayed in the four states due to various reasons such as RoW issues, delay in issuing tenders because of delay in substation land acquisition as well as delay in award of works due to low bid turnout in various projects which resulted in re-tendering several times.
Court cases including the Great Indian Bustard (GIB) related matter and forest clearances are the other two bottlenecks it added.
These states have been given extension up to June 30, 2025, it had informed the panel in May 2025.
“The Ministry is providing 70 per cent of central financial assistance (CFA) as advance in order to avoid delay in disbursement for RoW compensation and land acquisition. Further, the Ministry has repeatedly impressed upon the states to expedite the completion of the projects under this phase,” MNRE added in its response.
Published on August 21, 2025
