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| Company type | Statutory body[1] |
|---|---|
| Industry | Energy |
| Founded | 7 July 1948; 77 years ago (1948-07-07) |
| Headquarters | Kolkata,West Bengal,India |
Key people | S. Suresh Kumar (Chairman) |
| Products | Electricity |
| Services | Electricity generation andTransmission,distribution,production,Soil conservation Flood Moderation |
| Revenue |  ₹25,320 crore (US$3.0 billion) (2024-2025)[2] |
| ₹704 crore (US$83 million) (2023)[3] | |
| Total assets | ₹48,977 crore (US$5.8 billion) (2023)[3] |
| Total equity | ₹12,812 crore (US$1.5 billion) (2023)[3] |
Number of employees | 5243 (2024) |
| Parent | Ministry of Power,Government of India |
| Website | dvc.gov.in |
Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) is astatutory corporation which operates in theDamodar River area ofWest Bengal andJharkhand states ofIndia to handle the Damodar Valley Project, the first multipurpose river valley project of independent India.[4][5]AstrophysicistMeghnad Saha played a pioneering role in conceptualizing and advocating for the Damodar Valley Project.[6][7] DVC operates boththermal power stations andhydel powerstations under theownership ofMinistry of Power,Government of India. DVC is headquartered in theKolkata, West Bengal, India.[8]
DVC is currently undergoing corporatization and restructuring to explore the possibility of an IPO to raise funds for expansion.[9]
The valley of theDamodar River was flood prone and the devastating flood of 1943, lead to the formation of the high-powered "Damodar Flood Enquiry Committee" by the government of Bengal. The committee recommended the formation of a body similar to theTennessee Valley Authority of the United States. Subsequently, W.L. Voorduin, a senior engineer of TVA, was appointed to study the problem. He suggested the multi-purpose development of the valley as a whole in 1944. Damodar Valley Corporation was set up in 1948 as "the first multipurpose river valley project of independent India."[10]
DVC was formed with the central government and the governments of Bihar (later Jharkhand) and West Bengal participating in it. The main aims of the corporation were flood control, irrigation, generation and transmission of electricity, and year-round navigation. The corporation was also expected to provide indirect support for the over-all development of the region. However, while Voorduin had proposed the construction of eight dams, DVC built only four.[11] Honored Student ofAshutosh Mukherjee, ICS Sir S.N. Mozumdar(1904-1981) was appointed as the 1st Chairman of DVC in 1948. ICS Sir S.N. Mozumdar is the second Bengali afterNetaji Subhash Chandra Bose to achieve 100 percentage score in ICS exam.
Mr. Voorduin's "Preliminary Memorandum" suggested a multipurpose development plan designed for achieving flood control, irrigation, power generation and navigation in the Damodar Valley. Four consultants appointed by the Government of India examined it. They also approved the main technical features of Voorduin's scheme and recommended early initiation of construction beginning with Tilaiya to be followed by Maithon. By April 1947, full agreement was practically reached between the three Governments of Central, West Bengal and Bihar on the implementation of the scheme and in March 1948, the Damodar Valley Corporation Act (Act No. XIV of 1948) was passed by the Central Legislature, requiring the three Governments, The Central Government and the State Governments of West Bengal and Bihar to participate jointly for the purpose of building the Damodar Valley Corporation. The Corporation came into existence on 7 July 1948 as the first multipurpose river valley project of independent India.
The first dam was built across the Barakar River atTilaiya and inaugurated in 1953. The second dam,Konar Dam, across theKonar River was inaugurated in 1955. The third dam across theBarakar River atMaithon was inaugurated in 1957. The DVC Rest House atMaithon was renamedMazumder Niwas after ICS Sir S.N. Mozumdar(1904-1981) to honor his legacy as the 1st founding Chairman of DVC.Durgapur Barrage was built in 1955, with a 136.8 kilometres (85.0 mi) long left bank main canal and an 88.5 kilometres (55.0 mi) long right bank main canal. The fourth dam across the Damodar atPanchet was inaugurated in 1959.[12][13]
Command area: 24,235 km2 spread across the Damodar basin.Jharkhand: 2 districts fully (Dhanbad and Bokaro) and parts of 9 districts (Hazaribagh, Koderma, Chatra, Ramgarh, Palamau, Ranchi, Lohardaga, Giridih, and Dumka)West Bengal: 6 districts (Purba Bardhhaman, Paschim Bardhhaman, Hooghly, Howrah, Bankura and Purulia)
| Power Plant Name | State | Installed Capacity in MW | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mejia Thermal Power Station | West Bengal | 4x210 + 2x250 + 2x500 = 2,340 | |
| Raghunathpur Thermal Power Station | West Bengal | 2x600=1,200 | Upcoming 2x660 MW |
| Durgapur Steel Thermal Power Station | West Bengal | 2x500=1,000 | |
| Durgapur Thermal Power Station | West Bengal | 0 | Upcoming 1x800MW |
| Koderma Thermal Power Station | Jharkhand | 2x500=1,000 | Upcoming 2x800MW |
| Chandrapura Thermal Power Station | Jharkhand | 2x250=500 | Upcoming 1x800MW |
| Bokaro Thermal Power Station - A | Jharkhand | 1x500 | |
| Total | 6540 | ||
| Power Plant Name | State | Installed Capacity in MW |
|---|---|---|
| Panchet Dam | Jharkhand | 80 |
| Maithon Dam | Jharkhand | 63.2 |
| Tilaiya Dam | Jharkhand | 4 |
| Konar Dam | Jharkhand | Nil |
| Total | 147.2 | |
| Power Plant Name | State | Installed Capacity in MW | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maithon Power Limited | Jharkhand | 2x525=1,050 | Owned by Maithon Power Limited a joint venture between DVC andTata Power[16] |
| BPSCL Power Plant | Jharkhand | 338 | Owned by Bokaro Power Supply Corporation Limited (BPSCL) a joint venture between DVC and Bokaro Steel Limited[17] |
DVC developed and expanded its infrastructure to six thermal power stations (6750 MW) and three hydro-electric power stations with a capacity of 147.2 MW which contribute to a total installed capacity of 6897.2 MW. Presently DVC has 49 sub-stations and receiving stations more than 8390-circuit km of transmission and distribution lines. DVC has also four dams, a barrage and a network of canals (2494 km) that play an effective role in water management. The construction of check dams, development of forests and farms and upland and wasteland treatment developed by DVC play a vital role in eco-conservation and environmental management.
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DVC has a network of four dams -Tilaiya andMaithon onBarakar River,Panchet on Damodar river andKonar onKonar river. Besides, Durgapur barrage and the canal network, handed over to the Government of West Bengal in 1964, remained a part of the total system of water management. DVC dams are capable of moderating floods of 6.51 laccusec to 2.5 lac cusecs.
Four multipurpose dams were constructed during the period 1948 to 1959:
Flood reserve capacity of 1,292 mcm has been provided in 4 reservoirs, which can moderate a peak flood of 18,395 cumecs to a safe carrying capacity of 7,076 cumecs. 419 mcm of water is stored in the 4 DVC reservoirs to supply 680 cusecs of water to meet industrial, municipal and domestic requirements in West Bengal & Jharkhand. TheDurgapur barrage on river Damodar was constructed in 1955 for the supply of irrigation water to the districts of Burdwan, Bankura & Hooghly.
30,000 hectares (300 km2) of land in the upper valley is being irrigated, every year by lift irrigation with the water available from 16,000 (approx) check dams constructed by DVC.
Damodar Valley Plans 1.7 GW of Floating Solar Projects in West Bengal and Jharkhand.
A joint venture of DVC and SAIL has been established to operate and maintain the captive power and steam generation plant, hived off bySAIL and its Bokaro Steel Plant and supply power and steam exclusively to Bokaro Steel Ltd.[19]
A joint venture company formed with Eastern Minerals & Trading Agency for development and operation of Captive Coal Mine Blocks and supply of coal exclusively to DVC Thermal Power Projects of 10th and 11th plan.
Maithon Power Ltd., a joint venture between Tata Power and Damodar Valley Corporation, is one of the first greenfield public-private partnership (PPP) power projects in India. Operational since 2011, the plant contributes significantly to the energy grid and DVC’s power distribution capacity.[16]
The Mining and Allied Machinery Corporation (MAMC) in Durgapur —one of the PSU's in India set up under the rupee-rouble agreement and enjoying Soviet patronage in the early sixties. Bharat Earth Movers has the highest stake (48%) in the consortium while the other two PSUs — DVC and Coal India — have 26% stake each.
In 2018, DVC announced plans to build six 250 MW pump storage hydel power plants at Lagu Pahar on the Bokaro River.[20]
The financial performance of DVC remained robust, with revenue collections amounting to Rs. 25,320 crore in FY 2024-25 and an annual collection efficiency of 109 percent.
..Damodar Valley project was the first attempt at multi-purpose planning of a river basin.(..) The Damodar river is 541 km (about 336 miles) long and flows through Bihar and West Bengal, across the coal and steel belt of India. The river is also known as Deonadi in its initial reaches.
Damodar basin lies in the states of Jharkhand and West Bengal.
Saha's writing in the daily press was one of the major reasons which compelled the Bengal Government to appoint the Damodar Flood Enquiry Committee. The Maharajadhiraj of Burdwan was chairman, N. K. Bose secretary and Saha one of the members.(...) Saha demonstrated that the river system could be handled for multipurpose scheme, like Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), USA, using the Tennessee River system. But the war halted further work. During 1943-1944 Saha published a number of articles and editorials, to create public opinion and to shape government policy.
Saha had... presented a scheme for flood control to the Damodar Flood Enquiry Committee during 1943–44. Saha then became a member of that committee, founded after serious floods in 1943, which inspired the study by the US Army Corps of Engineers that led to the Damodar scheme.(..) Saha published his own scheme in Science and Culture, which involved dams, irrigation canals, and afforestation to check erosion.(..) He [Saha] was essentially the most prominent protagonist for the Damodar project but became the best-known critic of its execution.(..) Saha felt sensitive about the Damodar scheme because it was so personal an idea. He had conceived of the Damodar scheme as bringing power, of both kinds, to Bengal and had loudly advocated it because he believed deeply in the success of the TVA.
Maithon Power Ltd, in which the Tatas and DVC hold 74:26 stake, is being touted as the country's first greenfield power project under public-private partnership.
Maithon (1,050 MW) is a joint venture with Tata Power, and Bokaro Power Supply Corporation Limited (BPSCL) is a joint venture with Bokaro Steel Limited.
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