Facing flak from Opposition parties and other political rivals over the power crisis in the state, the Tamil Nadu Government announced that a Central team would visit the state in a week to finalise the location for setting up of ultra mega power projects (UMPP) here.Speaking to reporters at the party headquarters after returning from Delhi, Chief Minister and DMK president M Karunanidhi said that two UMPPs were proposed to be set up in Tamil Nadu, each with a capacity of 4,000 MW. “One plant will be located in Cheyyar, while the second one will be at either Marakkanam or Cuddalore. The Central team will inspect and advise us on the final decision,” he said.“The Centre will bear the cost for the plants, which will be around Rs 32,000 crore. The cost of acquiring land for the projects will also be borne by the Centre,” he said.The state will start receiving the 100 MW of electricity from the central grid as announced by Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde. However, the one-to two-hour power cuts will not be withdrawn just yet.The Chief Minister also said that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would take up the issue of the attacks on Indian fishermen at the SAARC summit in Sri Lanka in the first week of August.
