Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Centre land prod on money-saver project-Pheroze L Vincent

Centre land prod on money-saver project-Pheroze L Vincent

Share this article Share this article
published Published on Jun 14, 2012   modified Modified on Jun 14, 2012
-The Telegraph

In the time of a harsh summer, the Union power ministry is set to turn up the heat some more on the Jharkhand government for its inability to sort out land acquisition issues for a power plant in Hazaribagh that holds the promise of easing the state’s power woes in the near future.

Awarded to Reliance Power in 2009, the 3.960MW Tilaiya Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP) will be the topic of discussion when a team headed by joint secretary I.C.P. Keshari meets chief secretary S.K. Choudhary on June 14 to push for land to be allocated quickly.

“A team from our ministry will meet the chief secretary in Ranchi. We will ask him to expedite land acquisition for Tilaiya. So far we have no evidence of any significant progress in this regard,” Keshari said about the project that only recently attracted bad press after the police had to resort to lathi charge on a group of residents led by Congress MLA Yogendra Mahto for voicing their unhappiness at a public hearing for land acquisition.

The Tilaiya plant, one of 13 UMPPs being built that are supposed to collectively reach a capacity of 50,000 MW during the 12th Five-Year Plan period from 2012 to 2017, is supposed to convert heat from burning coal — from captive mines — to electricity.

But, work has been slow due to resistance to land acquisition and forest clearances. The plant — including ash and water corridors — is likely to span over 2,400 acre while the captive coal block is spread over 11,120 acre. The entire project covers 13,500 acre.

As on January 24, 2012, Central Electricity Authority figures showed only 470 acre of the plant area, less than a fifth of the land needed, had been acquired.

State energy officials revealed they had been pulled up by the ministry for the delay in land acquisition. “The power ministry is worried that Tilaiya has not shown any progress. The land acquisition process was expected to conclude by 2010, but even the area where the plant will come up has not been acquired,” a source in the energy department told this paper:

Though the project, 4km from the Tilaiya Dam, received environment clearance in 2008, a senior Jharkhand official claimed the forest department was sitting over the matter since June 2010.

“The power ministry has written several letters to the chief minister, but the forest department is yet to hand over 1,200 acre for the main plant. Only when that happens can construction start — which can take up to four years,” he said.

The state forest department claimed it was acting according to rules. “We asked Reliance to answer some queries regarding land usage. I cannot reveal it right now. Unless they reply, we cannot simply give the land,” state forests secretary A.K. Sarkar told The Telegraph.

As per a tripartite agreement between Reliance, the Centre and the state government, the plant would have to start producing power by 2015 and reach full capacity by 2017. The power generated would be sold at Rs 1.77 per unit for 25 years after operations begin.

It would not only be cheaper than the current average cost of Rs 3.32 per unit for Jharkhand, but also Jharkhand’s share of 1,000 MW would cover its power deficit.

A Jharkhand energy department source explained: “The price now hovers around Rs 3.30. In five years, when the UMPP is supposed to be fully operational, the rates will rise to Rs 5. Then, we would save at least Rs 3,000 crore per year in power bills, for 25 years. If the project is delayed, we will lose that much.”

He also hinted that many in the state government were pointing fingers towards Reliance Power for deliberately going slow. “The price of Rs 1.77 for 25 years now seems low for Reliance. If this land issue is not resolved, they will try to wriggle out of it,” a principal secretary rank official said.

Once the 1,200 acre forest land was acquired, Reliance Power would have to invest Rs 4,000 crore to place the order for equipment, explained the official. “This would tie them up to the project,” he added.

Reliance Power vice-president (corporate communications) Nagraj Rao did not reply to a questionnaire sent by The Telegraph . He said the situation would become clear after the review meeting on June 14.

Some villages in Hazaribagh and Koderma have refused to agree to Reliance’s terms and are, therefore, unwilling to part with their land. At a meeting with Reliance in March, chief minister Arjun Munda had clarified that the government would only help “serious players.”

The Telegraph, 14 June, 2012, http://www.telegraphindia.com/1120614/jsp/frontpage/story_15608711.jsp#.T9lvbRctigU


Related Articles

 

Write Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Video Archives

Archives

share on Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Feedback
Read Later

Contact Form

Please enter security code
      Close