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Journalism of Courage
The much delayed 1,500 mega watt Indira Gandhi Super Thermal Power Plant (IGSTPP) at Jharli in Jhajjar district of Haryana,being built by the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC),has failed to provide power to Delhi during the Commonwealth Games,as was originally planned. The first 500-MW unit of the plant was scheduled to be synchronised on Tuesday,but it could not be done despite best efforts. Even if it gets synchronised in a day or two,it will not be possible for the plant to start commercial production before at least a fortnight,while the Games conclude much before that. The trial run of the plant can begin only after it is synchronised on oil and the process is repeated on coal. The commercial production can actually begin only after a successful trial run.
The foundation stone for the Rs 8,587 crore super thermal power plant was laid by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on October 8,2007. Haryana and Delhi have an equal share in the plant. The first 500 MW unit of the plant was to come up by April this year,while the second unit was to begin generation by the middle of June and the third one by August 15. However,not even the first unit is complete till now. The plant has been delayed no doubt,but it will start power production any day after the synchronisation. We will be able to streamline things in a couple of days, D Chakravarty,chief executive officer of the plant,told The Indian Express. Sources,however,said it would be impossible for the plant to supply power any soon because transmission lines had not been laid yet either in Delhi or in Haryana. The NTPC is reportedly trying to tap the Bhiwadi (Rajasthan)-Moga (Punjab) power lines of the Power Grid Corporation of India on a temporary basis for about a month to supply power to Delhi till the transmission lines are laid. It is likely to take at least four months for the NTPC to lay transmission lines for Haryana. While the NTPC was to do the civil work for the project,the Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited (BHEL) was to install the equipment.
According to sources,the delay was caused because the NTPC took at least six months in planning of the project after its foundation stone was laid. A senior officer of the NTPC,however,blamed BHEL for the delay. BHEL was too late in installing the equipment as it has other projects,too,to handle in different parts of the country, he said.
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