Stuck for 18 yrs,Balagarh power project moves 10 days after land grab threat

Today,a resolution to start the project was taken at a meeting of the CESC’s board of management.

“We warned that if work was not started,we will hoist red flags and capture the land and then distribute it among the farmers,” Anil Basu,maverick Hooghly district Krishak Sabha general secretary said today.

After the threat by Krishak Sabha,Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Minister for Power Nirupam Sen reportedly spoke to CESC vice-chairman Sanjiv Goenka and urged him to start the project as early as possible.

Goenka,who today published his company’s results for the fourth quarter of this year,said the project could not start because “hostile environment”.

“But let us not look back into the past. We are starting the project keeping in mind the power situation of the state. I have spoken to the chief minister,the minister for power,the central government and the electricity regulatory authority and we have all agreed the project should be started,” Goenka said.

He also said his company has sent an application to Coal India for coal linkage for the proposed 1320-MW plant,which will be built in two phases at a cost of Rs 3,200 crore. “The plant will be operationalised by 2013-2014,” Goenka said,adding his company also plans to enter into the business of renewable energy. “We are indeed chalking out some plans but nothing has been finalised,” he said.

CESC to pump in Rs 20,000 cr to add 5,000 MW
RPG Enterprises’ flagship company CESC

Ltd today said it would invest Rs 20,000 crore to add 5,000 MW of power in the country over the next few years,but was not looking into merchant power with imported coal.

“We will need to invest Rs 18,000-Rs 20,000 crore in the next few years to add 5,000 MW in several projects across the country,” CESC vice-chairman Sanjiv Goenka told reporters here. The current installed capacity of CESC is 1,225 MW.

Goenka,however,said the company would keep its debt in control and was planning to keep debt equity in the range of 1.4:1,which is much below industry average. The new projects are coming up in Haldia (1,200 MW) and Balagarh (1,320 MW) in West Bengal,Chandrapur (600 MW) in Maharashtra,besides in Jharkhand,Orissa and Bihar. Although the projects are moving ahead,they are some troubles. The Haldia project’s phase-I is facing trouble in acquiring 40 acres of land out of a total of 388 acres required for the thermal power plant. The land factor might even threaten viability of the project,Goenka added.

The company was facing problem in acquiring land which would be required for laying railway track to import coal and evacuate flyash. Goenka said the firm was scouting for coal reserve in the overseas countries including,Indonesia,Mozambique and Australia.

However,when asked whether the company had any plan for merchant power plant with imported coal,Goenka said it was not possible to export high cost power when West Bengal was trying to cope with power crisis. CESC is one of the shortlisted bidders for the 140-MW Lara-Sumta hydel project in Himachal Pradesh.

The company,however,has not been able to win any bid for new distribution licence in new regions. CESC had bid for Patna,Nagpur and Jharkhand. PTI