Kumbhe PSP

Notes

• Off-stream open loop × Open loop A PSP with at least one reservoir on a river or stream, so it changes natural water flow. More in glossary → , 4 × 275 MW.
• The upper reservoir is the WRD's part-built Kumbhe dam on the Nirabai river (a Savitri tributary), first started as a conventional hydro project; the lower dam is planned below Chach waterfall.
• Coords are the upper dam.
• EAC × Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) The central committee of experts that recommends ToR and EC for river valley and hydro projects, including PSPs. More in glossary → recommended ToR × Terms of Reference (ToR) The list of studies an EIA must cover, set by the expert committee. Getting a ToR is the first clearance step, not a permission to build. More in glossary → on 12 Sep 2025 (39th meeting).
• Land 151.06 ha: 82.43 ha private, 59.03 ha government, 9.60 ha forest (all reserved forest); Stage-I FC × Forest clearance (Stage-I / Stage-II) Central permission to use forest land for a project. Stage-I is in-principle approval with conditions; Stage-II is final approval. More in glossary → not yet applied for at ToR.
• The EAC noted all components lie inside the draft Western Ghats ESA × Western Ghats Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) About 56,825 sq km of the Western Ghats proposed for protection since 2014; still only a draft, reissued six times. More in glossary → (31 Jul 2024) and made a sub-committee site visit × EAC site visit An inspection by EAC members. Since Sep 2024 the EAC wants one for every Western Ghats PSP before EC. More in glossary → a ToR condition before EC × Environmental clearance (EC) The environment ministry's permission for a project, given after the EIA and public hearing, with conditions attached. More in glossary → .
• Submergence is listed as 123.96 ha (upper, already acquired by WRD) plus 33.95 ha (lower), more than the 151.06 ha total, so the upper reservoir land appears to sit outside the project's own land count.
• Tree count to be given in the EIA × Environmental impact assessment (EIA) The study a developer must commission on a project's effects on land, water, wildlife and people before it can get an EC. More in glossary → .
• MoU × Memorandum of understanding (MoU) A non-binding agreement between the state and a developer to study and build a project at a site, with a water allocation. More in glossary → 3 Sep 2024 at 1,000 MW; an addendum of 29 Apr 2026 raised it to 1,100 MW.

Timeline

1. 29 April 2026 · MoU signed, no clearance yet Reported #

   NTPC MoU addendum raises Amba to 1,500 MW and Kumbhe to 1,100 MW

   Details and documents

   Signed in the CM's presence; the EAC had asked NTPC to revise the Amba MoU at the same week's ToR meeting.ⓘ×Reported“Following detailed technical studies, feasibility assessments, and topographical evaluations, the project parameters have now been revised: Amba PSP: Increased from 800 MW to 1,500 MW”Indian Masterminds: NTPC and Maharashtra sign MoU addendum for Amba and Kumbhe · 29 April 2026ⓘ×Reported“Amba PSP: Increased from 800 MW to 1,500 MW Kumbhe PSP: Increased from 1,000 MW to 1,100 MW”Indian Masterminds: NTPC and Maharashtra sign MoU addendum for Amba and Kumbhe · 29 April 2026

   Amba PSP · Kumbhe PSP · Indian Masterminds: NTPC and Maharashtra sign MoU addendum for Amba and Kumbhe

2. 12 September 2025 · Clearance Documented #

   EAC recommends ToR for NTPC's Kumbhe PSP × Pumped storage project (PSP) Two reservoirs at different heights: water is pumped up when power is cheap and released through turbines when power is needed. More in glossary →

   Details and documents

   1,100 MWⓘ×Documented“abandoned. The upper reservoir is going to be utilized for the Kumbhe PSP (1100 MW).”EAC 39th meeting minutes, 12 Sep 2025 (item 39.3), page32 · 12 September 2025 open loop in Mangaon, Raigad, reusing WRD's part-built Kumbhe dam as the upper reservoir, on 151.06 haⓘ×Documented“Pumped Storage Project (1100 MW) in an area of 151.06 Ha at Village Kelgan, Kumbhe, Manjurne &”EAC 39th meeting minutes, 12 Sep 2025 (item 39.3), page32 · 12 September 2025, of which 9.60 haⓘ×Documented“which 141.46 ha is non-forest land and 9.60 ha is forest land. Diversion of forest land for non-”EAC 39th meeting minutes, 12 Sep 2025 (item 39.3), page128 · 12 September 2025 is reserved forest. The EAC noted every component is inside the draft Western Ghats ESA and required a sub-committee site visit before EC.

   Kumbhe PSP · EAC 39th meeting minutes, 12 Sep 2025 (item 39.3) · SANDRP: 2025 env & forest clearance decisions

3. 3 September 2024 · MoU signed, no clearance yet Reported #

   NTPC signs MoU for Amba and Kumbhe PSPs

   Details and documents

   1,800 MWⓘ×Reported“Following detailed technical studies, feasibility assessments, and topographical evaluations, the project parameters have now been revised: Amba PSP: Increased from 800 MW to 1,500 MW”Indian Masterminds: NTPC and Maharashtra sign MoU addendum for Amba and Kumbhe · 29 April 2026ⓘ×Reported“The original MoU, signed on September 3, 2024, proposed the development of two pumped storage projects—Amba and Kumbhe—with a combined capacity of 1,800 MW.”Indian Masterminds: NTPC and Maharashtra sign MoU addendum for Amba and Kumbhe · 29 April 2026 in all: Amba 800 MW and Kumbhe 1,000 MWⓘ×Reported“Amba PSP: Increased from 800 MW to 1,500 MW Kumbhe PSP: Increased from 1,000 MW to 1,100 MW”Indian Masterminds: NTPC and Maharashtra sign MoU addendum for Amba and Kumbhe · 29 April 2026, both in the Pune–Raigad Ghats.

   Amba PSP · Kumbhe PSP · Indian Masterminds: NTPC and Maharashtra sign MoU addendum for Amba and Kumbhe