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Jammu, Mar 20 (UNI) To meet its increasing energy requirements, the Jammu and Kashmir government has decided to construct a 690-MW Rattle power project at a cost of Rs 3,805 crore on Chenab in Kishtwar, about 230 km north-east from here.

Chief Secretary B R Kundal, while chairing the meeting of Empowered Committee on Power Development Corporation which took the decision yesterday, said the new project would help the state in overcoming the electricity shortage.

''The power project will not only generate power but also provide employment to the youths of the state in general and of Kishtwar in particular,'' Mr Kundal said in an official statement.

The government has handed over the construction work of the power project a private firm, Independent Power Producers (IPP).

Jammu and Kashmir, which has a potential of generating 20,000 MW of electricity, imports 1,400 MW of power to meet its demand of 1,800 MW.

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