Rangit Dam

Rangit Dam
Rangit Dam and Reservoir
Location of Rangit Dam in India Sikkim
Official name	Rangit Hydropower Project, Stage III
Location	Legship, Sikkim, India
Coordinates	27°17′41″N 88°17′32″E / 27.29472°N 88.29222°E / 27.29472; 88.29222Coordinates: 27°17′41″N 88°17′32″E / 27.29472°N 88.29222°E / 27.29472; 88.29222
Opening date	January 2000
Owner(s)	Government of India
Operator(s)	National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Ltd.
Dam and spillways
Type of dam	Concrete Gravity
Impounds	Ranjit River
Height	45 metres (148 ft)
Length	100 metres (330 ft)
Spillway type	Gated Overflow
Spillway capacity	2725 m³/s
Reservoir
Creates	Rangit Reservoir
Total capacity	1.175 million cubic metres
Catchment area	979 square kilometres (378 sq mi)
Surface area	12.9 hectares (32 acres)
Power station
Operator(s)	National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Ltd.
Commission date	January 2000
Type	Run-of-the-river
Turbines	3×20 MW
Installed capacity	60 MW
Annual generation	340 GWh (Firm Power 39 MW)

Rangit Dam (Hindi: रन्गीत् बाँध Bāndh), which forms the headworks of the Rangit Hydroelectric Power Project Stage III, is a run-of-the-river power project on the Ranjit River, a major tributary of the Tista River in the South Sikkim district of the Northeastern Indian state of Sikkim. The project's construction was completed in 1999. The project is fully functional since 2000. The project was built at a cost of Rs 4922.6 million (Rs 492.26 crores) (at 1 USD = Rs 45, this is 109.39 million USD). The average annual power generation from the 60 MW (3x20 MW) project is 340 GWh with firm power of 39 MW.

The Ranjit River on which the Rangit Dam is located, is a major right bank tributary of the Teesta River in Sikkim. The river arises from the Talung glacier and it meets the Teesta river at Melli after a travel of 61 kilometres (38 mi) from its source. At the dam site, the catchment area drained is 979.02 square kilometres (378.00 sq mi) (rain-fed catchment is 712 square kilometres (275 sq mi) and the balance area is snow fed above snow line contour of (4,570 metres (14,990 ft)); elevation of the catchment area varies from about 600 metres (2,000 ft) to about 7,338 metres (24,075 ft) (North Kabru Peak) and is delimited between (27°16′30″N 88°00′51″E / 27.275°N 88.0141°E / 27.275; 88.0141) and (27°37′10″N 88°25′12″E / 27.6195°N 88.42°E / 27.6195; 88.42). A number of perennial streams originate in glacial fields of the river basin; important snow-fed rivers which constitute the Rangit basin above the dam site are the Rathong Chu, Rimbi Chu, Prek Chu, Ralli Chu, Rongdon Chu and Kayam Chu. The drainage pattern is sub-dendentric.