Maharashtra: State approves power plant near Nagpur, hopes to win over activists

Recently, the project was mired in controversy because of opposition from environmental activists. Representation pic

The state cabinet has given approval to a supercritical thermal power plant in Koradi near Nagpur which is a replacement for the aged polluting units. A budget of Rs 8,500 crore, to be raised through debt (80 per cent) and equality (20 per cent), was cleared on Thursday. According to the CMO, the state-run Mahagenco (generation company) will build two units of 660 megawatts each using modern technology that will reduce pollution. The old units, now defunct, had the capacity of 1,250 MW. The new unit will have a total capacity of 1,320 MW.

Recently, the project was mired in controversy because of opposition from environmental activists, who claimed that it would add to the pollution and challenged the public hearing in the Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court. The public hearing report has been sent to the Ministry of Environment and Forests for clearance.

One of the activists, Anil Wadpalliwar from Nagpur, said that the verdict was awaited. "The court has issued notices to the parties concerned. Our contention is that the hearing was a sham. The activists were not heard properly in May's hearing. We don't want any additional power plants here in Koradi because it already has many for decades, and they have impacted the locals very badly. The new plant, though touted as a replacement for old ones, will definitely add to the pollution level," he said, adding that thermal power plants like these could be built in Pune, Thane or anywhere else where they need power at the cost of others like us.

Wadpalliwar said the area in Vidarbha, where the maximum number of coal-fired power plants are situated, should get power at a much lesser cost because they had been suffering a lot in terms of environmental loss and pollution-induced illnesses. Meanwhile, a Mahagenco official told mid-day that the government was committed to addressing environmental concerns. "It is not a new plant but a replacement for the older, more polluting one. It will be cheaper because we have not bought new land and spent on rehabilitation," he said.

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According to a Mahagenco study, the construction and operation of the plant can generate waste, but a detailed waste management programme and environmental management plan have been developed to mitigate the pollution potential. "Due to the project activities, socio-economic conditions in and around the project site will improve substantially. 33 per cent of greenbelt will be developed in and around the proposed project. The proposed project will not have any adverse impact on the local environment," it said, adding that groundwater or surface water will be used for power generation and cooling purposes. Instead, treated domestic wastewater from the Nagpur civic body will be used.

"Work of installation of a flue gas desulfurisation (FGD) plant will be initiated simultaneously along with the start of construction of generation units (to be operational in 60 months)," it said further.