UMPPs seek alternate coal blocks and environmental clearance

The 16-months long wait of bidders of power project in Pindrakhi and Puta Parogia blocks at Surguja in Chhattisgarh continues as environment ministry is unlikely to give nod to the project as they fall under a no mining go zone. 'We have written to coal ministry to allocate alternate coal blocks of equal capacity in the vicinity of the power project. Forest-related issues to the attached coal are unlikely to be resolved anytime soon,' a senior power ministry official said. Since these are coal based projects the environment ministry is strictly monitoring the sites before giving consent. Though, the government has earlier said that some of the coal blocks lying in the 'no-go' areas, which could not be used for mining, may be shifted to the go-areas, a move to expedite clearance for ultra mega power projects (UMPPs).

The said project is the part of Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPP) launched with 'power for all' motive accounting capacity of 4,000 MW each which would entail the creation of an additional capacity of at least 100,000 MW by 2012. The Power Ministry along with the Central Electricity Authority and Power Finance Corporation has launched an initiative for the development of coal-based UMPP's in India.

In total, nine such projects had been identified to be taken up, 4 at pithead and 5 at coastal locations. Five coastal sites at - Mundra in Gujarat, Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, Tadri in Karnataka, Girye in Maharashtra, and Cheyyur in Tamil Nadu; four pithead sites at - Sasan in Madhya Pradesh, Tilaiya in Jharkhand, Sundergarh District in Orissa and Akaltara in Chhattisgarh. In addition, Tamil Nadu has identified additional site at Marakanam. Further, Karnataka has also suggested an additional site at Ghataprabha in Belgaum District. These projects were accordingly allocated to Tata Power, NTPC and Reliance.

Girye project in Maharashtra is also delayed due to local agitation. About 3,000 acres of land had been identified near villages Tirlot/ Saundle/ Padel in Taluka Deogarh, Distt. Sindhudurg. However, due to local agitation, requisite clearances for the land are not available. Therefore, the bidding process has not been initiated. The state government has suggested alternate site at Dighi, however, according to Central Electricity Authority owing to limited availability of land, the site may not be suitable for development of the UMPP for 4000 MW. Final position from the State Government is awaited.

The development of these projects bears strategic importance as they will fulfill the power demand of many states and since they are large sized projects the cost will be reduced due to economies of large scale. Each project bears cost of Rs. 16,000-18,000 crore. Government has finalised allocation of 16 coal blocks with total reserves of 16 billion tonnes for the Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPPs) besides earmarking 15 other blocks for the power sector under the captive mining dispensation. While, the coal ministry has earmarked 81 additional coal blocks with reserves of about 20 billion tons to be given to the public and private companies to meet the increasing demand in the country.