Jaigad, Dinghi, Revas Port works to be expedited

Development work of ports to be expedited :CM

Mumbai, May 21: Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh today assured that the development works of Revas, Dighi and Jaigad ports in Konkan region would be expedited.

He was speaking after a presentation of the development works of these three ports at Mantralaya here.

Revas port development is being handled by Revas Port Ltd. The port is situated in the middle of the deep sea and hence state of the art facilities would be made available at this multi purpose port. Apart from handling cargo, there would be facility for handling liquid gas,coal and car. In the first phase, the port will have handling capacity of 48 million tonne and by 2040, there will be capacity of handling 130 million tonne of cargo.

The project costs Rs 5114 crore out of which Rs 1534 crore will be financed by private parties and rest raised through loan.

Dighi port is being developed by DPL group. The first project is worth Rs 600 crore. The construction is expected to begin this month itself. Cargo handling will begin from this port by March 2009.

Permissions have been received to construct four lane road to the highway from the port and also linkage to the railway route.

JSW Infrastructure and Logistics Ltd is handling the development of Jaigad fort. The tenders will be issued in August 2007 and construction work will begin from September. The first phase construction will be completed by March 2009. Bharti Shipyard ltd is constructing a modern shipyard at Usgaon near the Dabhol port in Ratnagiri district. A presentation about the shipyard was also made to the Chief Minister.

--- UNI

TPP of 1215 MW proposed at Yavatmal, Maharashtra

Darda & Abhijeet Group to set up power project

2007-04-26 13:46:52 Source : Moneycontrol.com

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The Darda Group and the Abhijeet Group of Nagpur have joined hands to set up a 1,215 MW “Jawaharlal Darda Mega Power Project” in the Yavatmal District of Maharashtra. This project would entail an investment of approximately Rs. 5,000 crore and generate indirect and direct employment for at least 2,000 people.

Earlier, the State Government had issued a Letter of Support to JLD Yavatmal Energy Limited for this project. The Letter of Support substitutes the MoU, which the Government used to sign earlier. IDFC has signed a MoU with the Company to pick up equity stake in the project. The coal-based thermal power project is expected to be operational by 2010.

A formal announcement was made by senior State Government officials at a press conference held in the presence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Shri Vilasrao Deshmukh, Shri Dilip Walse Patil (Energy Minister), Shri Vijay Darda (M.P. & Chairman, Lokmat Group & JLD Yavatmal Energy Limited), Shri Deepak Parekh (Chairman, IDFC), Shri Basant Lall Shaw (Group Chairman, Abhijeet Group), Shri Rajendra Darda (MLA & former State Minister), Shri D. K. Sankaran (Chief Secretary), Shri Rahul Asthana (Principal Secretary-Energy), Shri V. K. Jayarath (Principal Secretary-Industries), Shri Rajiv Lall (MD, IDFC), Shri Abhishek Jayaswal (Director, Abhijeet Group), Shri Devendra Darda (Director of JLD Yavatmal Energy Limited).

Shri Vijay Darda, M.P. & Chairman, Lokmat Group, said, “Yavatmal, apart from offering natural advantages for the project, also happens to be my freedom fighter father, late Jawaharlal Darda’s hometown. He dedicated his life for the development of this State. We conceived this project in the background of acute power shortage in the State and the farmers’ suicide in this district. If he would have been alive, he would have definitely done something to curb it. This project will be dedicated to his memory. We are planning to provide free power to the marginal farmers in the district for five years.”

Mr. Abhishek Jayaswal, Director-Abhijeet Group, added, “By partnering with the Lokmat Group and IDFC in this prestigious project, we have reinforced our commitment to achieve our goal to be in the forefront of the energy, power and infrastructure sector. This power project has the makings of addressing the socio-economic objectives of the Maharashtra Government. We are committed to bring the state-of-the-art technology and adopt the best suited financing options to supply power at competitive rates to the power starved State of Maharashtra.”

Sourced From: Adfactors Public Relations Pvt Ltd

'Assess power plant’s impact on mango belt' Mumbai HC

'Assess power plant’s impact on mango belt'

Chitrangada Choudhury
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Mumbai, April 28, 2007

As the first batch of Konkan’s famed Alphonso mangoes takes off for export to the United States amidst dissolving trade barriers, farmers from the region have got the Bombay High Court to address their fears on the impact of a proposed power plant in coastal Ratnagiri on their orchards.

Chief Justice Swatantra Kumar and Judge S Dharmadhikari on Thursday have ordered the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), the region’s leading agricultural university Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth and National Environmental Engineering Reasearch Institute, to assess the ecological impact of the 1200 megawatt plant by JSW Energy Ltd, formerly Jindal Thermal Power Company). The judges have asked the bodies to report the results to the court in two months.

The plant, along with five other proposed power projects along the Konkan, is expected to plug the state’s shortfall of 5500 MW. In mid-April, HT had first reported on how Konkan struggles to reconcile the need to address the state’s power shortages with the growing aspirations of its mango farmers and a viable agriculture.

The plant, which will burn 4.1 million tones of coal each year, is located in the heart of the state’s famed mango land, spread over 1,025 acres in Ratnagiri's Nandivde and Jaigad villages, 390 km south of Mumbai. A committee under the central Ministry of Environment and Forests is currently considering its environmental clearance.

But in the meantime, farmers and fishing settlements in the surrounding villages worrying about the impact of the fly ash emission and the potential climate change, galvanised into the Ratnagiri Zilla Jagruk Manch (Ratnagiri district awarness forum) and moved court.

The forum’s lawyer Advocate V Gangal said, “The judges accepted our argument that no proper assessment of the plant’s polluting impact had been done. The Environmental Impact Assessment report and public hearing process was faulty and local gram panchayats had not been provided with copies contrary to law.” But MPCB Director D Boralkar rejected the contention that his body had not carried out the process properly.

HT had also reported how the university in collaboration with JSEW would carry out a survey spread over three years to assess the impact of the plant on the area’s agriculture and fisheries. But Boralkar said that two months was adequate to carry out the study of this kind. “You leave it to us experts to implement the court’s order. The basic data of the power plant is already there in the existing EIA report.”
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© Copyright 2007 Hindustan Times

HC Intervene in Jindal's Jaigad TPP

MPCB report sought in HC on Jindal`s power project in Ratnagiri

Mumbai, April 29: The Bombay High Court has asked the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board to file an environmental impact assessment report with regard to the Jindal Group's proposed coal-based thermal power plant in Ratnagiri district. While preparing the report, to be filed in two months, MPCB is to rope in the national environment engineering research institute (Neeri), the division bench of Chief Justice Swatanter Kumar and Justice S C Dharmadhikari directed last week. The court's order came on a PIL filed by members of Ratnagiri Zilla Jagaruk Manch who are opposing the project fearing environmental pollution, as the proposed plant, aimed at generating 1200 mw of power, would use coal as fuel. It would give rise to a lot of flying ash which could destroy the horticulture in the area, the petitioners contended. The plant, to be set up by JSW infrastructure and logistics, is coming up in 878 acres of land at Nandiwade village near Jaigad. The area has an extensive cultivation of mango, cashew and other fruits, which would be hit because of ash thrown into air by the project, the PIL said. The petitioners argued that a similar project at Dahanu in Thane district spelled disaster for the Chikoo orchards, which experienced a sudden dip in productivity. Their lawyer V A Gangal had earlier alleged in the court that the district administration and local politicians were hands-in-glove with the company, ignoring the local people's apprehensions. Bureau Report (http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=368487&sid=REG)