Explore the natural beauty of Ganpatiphule beach
20 Jan, 2008, 0018 hrs IST, TNN
While droves of people from Mumbai head out to Goa every New Year’s Eve, eager to replicate the city’s endless traffic jams, crowds,
congestion and frayed tempers in a more exotic location, a few choose more offbeat destinations. Ganapatipule is a perfect retreat for
someone who wants a beach along the same coastline, minus the frenetic crowds putting considerable effort into having a good time.
On New Year’s Eve of course Ganapatipule is anything but desolate — it’s a touch and go getting accommodation at the MTDC’s large
resort complex on the beach. But it’s not packed either — there’s still enough space and beach to go around without people being in each
other’s hair all the time.
While there are several other resorts that dot Ganapatipule, MTDC has most of them trumped on location. Apart from being spread
across a very impressive stretch of the coastline, the MTDC resort is right next to what’s perhaps the biggest attraction — a Ganapati
temple that the place derives its name from.
According to local legend, the deity is ‘swayambhu’ — manifested of its own accord instead of actually being carved and installed.
And yet, Ganapatipule holds attractions for the secular visitor as well, unlike Tirupati for instance, where gawkers and tourists just out for
a good time are not welcome. First off, there’s the main beach, clean and well maintained.
Just a few kilometres away, there are several other beaches entirely devoid of the trappings and clamour that every big city beach is
encumbered with — even the almost mandatory coconut water guy is absent from some of these.
Jaigad Fort is a mere 35 kilometres away, an archaeological marvel that time and poor maintenance have done very little to diminish the
splendour of the fort. With the sea on three sides, Jaigad is one of the most visually spectacular destinations in Mahrashtra. What’s
lacking though is any attempt at giving the place a historical context.
For a traveller spoiled by the European and American tendency towards guided tours that are chockfull of trivia and history, it’s a bit odd
having to walk around and rely on conjecture and a DIY approach to figure out the how’s and why’s of the place.
It could be argued though that the lack of explanation leaves nothing to distract one from the sheer impact of the fort, and its ramparts
that overlook the sea.
Ganapatipule is among the few places where hotels by and large still focus on the local cuisine and have mostly not been pummelled into
an indistinguishable mix of South Indian, Chinese and Punjabi food. Modaks stuffed with a jaggery and coconut filling, freshly brewed
kokum sherbet/solkadi, distinctly flavoured vegetarian fare and a fairly extensive seafood menu are all exclusive to the place.
One eccentricity of all the restaurants that outsiders will have to adjust to is the fact that not everything is available all the time — items on
the breakfast menu for instance cannot be had as an after -dinner snack.
A mere eight hour drive from Mumbai, and well connected by buses from Ratnagiri, Ganapatipule is the perfect destination for a stressfree
weekend where the lack of an overwhelming number of tourist attractions enforces a lazy relaxed pace
(http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ET_Features/The_Sunday_ET/As_You_Like_It/Explore_the_natural_beauty_of_Ganpatiphule_beach/articleshow/2714465.cms)
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Sunday, January 13, 2008
1,320Mw (660 X 2) thermal power plant near Tirora in Maharashtra.
Adani arm to start work on 1320Mw project soon
Business Standard, Monday Jan 14, 2008
Vinay Umarji / Mumbai/ Ahmedabad January 14, 2008
Adani Power Maharashtra Private Limited (APMPL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ahmedabad-based Adani group’s Adani Power Limited (APL), will soon start work on its 1,320Mw (660 X 2) thermal power plant near Tirora in Maharashtra.
The company has lined up investments to the tune of Rs 5,280 crore for the plant, which forms the first phase of its power project in the region.
“Fuel has been tied-up for the plant and the construction work will begin soon,” said a company official.
The coal-fired Tirora plant will mark APMPL’s foray into power generation, followed by a second phase plant of 660Mw in either Maharashtra or some other region later.
Expected to be commissioned within 40 months from the day the construction starts, the power generated from the plant will be bought by beneficiary government bodies like electricity boards, said the official. The company is believed to be in advance stages of procuring power generation equipment from a Chinese firm.
For the fuel, Adani Power Maharashtra will be procuring coal from the Loharu west mines. It is likely that the power generated from the plant might also be traded through AEL’s power trading division.
APL, on the other hand, is in the process of setting up a 2640Mw coal-based thermal power plant at Mundra. The project is expected to create a synergy between APL’s existing business and its growth plans.
(http://www.business-standard.com/compindustry/storypage.php?leftnm=lmnu1&subLeft=1&autono=310557&tab=r)
Business Standard, Monday Jan 14, 2008
Vinay Umarji / Mumbai/ Ahmedabad January 14, 2008
Adani Power Maharashtra Private Limited (APMPL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ahmedabad-based Adani group’s Adani Power Limited (APL), will soon start work on its 1,320Mw (660 X 2) thermal power plant near Tirora in Maharashtra.
The company has lined up investments to the tune of Rs 5,280 crore for the plant, which forms the first phase of its power project in the region.
“Fuel has been tied-up for the plant and the construction work will begin soon,” said a company official.
The coal-fired Tirora plant will mark APMPL’s foray into power generation, followed by a second phase plant of 660Mw in either Maharashtra or some other region later.
Expected to be commissioned within 40 months from the day the construction starts, the power generated from the plant will be bought by beneficiary government bodies like electricity boards, said the official. The company is believed to be in advance stages of procuring power generation equipment from a Chinese firm.
For the fuel, Adani Power Maharashtra will be procuring coal from the Loharu west mines. It is likely that the power generated from the plant might also be traded through AEL’s power trading division.
APL, on the other hand, is in the process of setting up a 2640Mw coal-based thermal power plant at Mundra. The project is expected to create a synergy between APL’s existing business and its growth plans.
(http://www.business-standard.com/compindustry/storypage.php?leftnm=lmnu1&subLeft=1&autono=310557&tab=r)
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Are the govt’s green clearances a farce?
Many projects could have been approved based on inaccurate environmental impact assessment reports
Padmaparna Ghosh reports,
New Delhi: On 29 December 2006, the Union environment ministry signed off on the environmental clearance for a bauxite mining project located in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, to be operated by Ashapura Minechem Ltd, a listed Indian firm that is on the verge of starting the mine.
On the face of it, the clearance, given by the ministry on the recommendation of an internal expert appraisal committee on mining, consisting of 11 members, was fairly routine but vital to Ashapura moving ahead on the project.
But, it turns out that the critical environmental impact assessment, or EIA, the basis on which the expert group gave its approval, was based on data simply copied from a Russian bauxite mine report that had nothing to do with Ratnagiri’s vegetation or ecology.
Interviews with activists, officials in the environment ministry and companies, coupled with a review of documents obtained through the Right to Information Act (RTI) suggest that Ratnagiri may be one of many projects cleared by the ministry based on inaccurate environmental assessment reports.
Environmental activists maintain that several other projects have EIAs that are also faulty. Others say that an overburdened expert group and lack of standards for environment consultants who help write these reports is leading to some projects being approved without an accurate assessment of environmental and social costs.
“In the few years that we have started challenging faulty EIAs, we were clear that bulk of the EIA reports by even the most reputed organization are a ‘cut and paste’ job, based on secondary data... Most, if not all, got cleared by the ministry of environment and forests,” alleges Ritwick Dutta, an environmental lawyer and convenor of Legal Initiative for Forest and Environment, or Life, a New Delhi-based non-profit that obtained the Ratnagiri information through RTI.
If true, this would also mean that several ongoing projects could end up in legal jeopardy if environmentalists are able to prove their case.
While there is no independent means of verifying how many EIAs were faulty, in the Ratnagiri mining case, the ministry admits that approval was given without any independent assessment of the “facts” in the report.
Consider what the report said about the environment in Ratnagiri district: “The primary habitat near the site, for birds, is the spruce forests and the forests of mixed spruce and birch.”
Turns out, such tree species are found only in northern temperate regions, such as Alaska, Norway and Russia.
“There could be misjudgement on the part of the ministry in this case but the onus does not lie only on the ministry,” concedes a member of the expert group on mining that cleared the Ratnagiri project. He didn’t want to be named citing the need to follow the ministry’s protocol.
Original Article: http://www.livemint.com/2007/12/27000203/Are-the-govt8217s-green-cle.html
Padmaparna Ghosh reports,
New Delhi: On 29 December 2006, the Union environment ministry signed off on the environmental clearance for a bauxite mining project located in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, to be operated by Ashapura Minechem Ltd, a listed Indian firm that is on the verge of starting the mine.
On the face of it, the clearance, given by the ministry on the recommendation of an internal expert appraisal committee on mining, consisting of 11 members, was fairly routine but vital to Ashapura moving ahead on the project.
But, it turns out that the critical environmental impact assessment, or EIA, the basis on which the expert group gave its approval, was based on data simply copied from a Russian bauxite mine report that had nothing to do with Ratnagiri’s vegetation or ecology.
Interviews with activists, officials in the environment ministry and companies, coupled with a review of documents obtained through the Right to Information Act (RTI) suggest that Ratnagiri may be one of many projects cleared by the ministry based on inaccurate environmental assessment reports.
Environmental activists maintain that several other projects have EIAs that are also faulty. Others say that an overburdened expert group and lack of standards for environment consultants who help write these reports is leading to some projects being approved without an accurate assessment of environmental and social costs.
“In the few years that we have started challenging faulty EIAs, we were clear that bulk of the EIA reports by even the most reputed organization are a ‘cut and paste’ job, based on secondary data... Most, if not all, got cleared by the ministry of environment and forests,” alleges Ritwick Dutta, an environmental lawyer and convenor of Legal Initiative for Forest and Environment, or Life, a New Delhi-based non-profit that obtained the Ratnagiri information through RTI.
If true, this would also mean that several ongoing projects could end up in legal jeopardy if environmentalists are able to prove their case.
While there is no independent means of verifying how many EIAs were faulty, in the Ratnagiri mining case, the ministry admits that approval was given without any independent assessment of the “facts” in the report.
Consider what the report said about the environment in Ratnagiri district: “The primary habitat near the site, for birds, is the spruce forests and the forests of mixed spruce and birch.”
Turns out, such tree species are found only in northern temperate regions, such as Alaska, Norway and Russia.
“There could be misjudgement on the part of the ministry in this case but the onus does not lie only on the ministry,” concedes a member of the expert group on mining that cleared the Ratnagiri project. He didn’t want to be named citing the need to follow the ministry’s protocol.
Original Article: http://www.livemint.com/2007/12/27000203/Are-the-govt8217s-green-cle.html
Sunday, December 23, 2007
HC awaits govt reply on Jaigad power plant
Business Standard
Monday,Dec 24,2007
HC awaits govt reply on Jaigad power plant
Press Trust Of India / Mumbai December 24, 2007
The Bombay High Court has reminded the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) and the Centre to file replies on the PIL opposing the OP Jindal group’s coal-based power plant in Jaigad in Ratnagiri district.
The 1,200-Mw power project is facing opposition despite getting clearances from both the MPCB and the environment and forest ministry. Fly-ash generated by the plant will ruin the horticulture in the area, it is feared.
The high court is currently hearing a PIL filed by the Ratnagiri Jilla Jagruk Manch (RJJM). “On the last three occasions, MPCB and the environment and forest ministry were given time to file their replies. They haven’t so far,” said advocate VA Gangal, petitioners’ lawyer.
Recently, when the matter came up before the division bench of Chief Justice Swatanter Kumar and Justice JP Deodhar, nobody from the MPCB’s side was present. Annoyed, the court had to postpone the hearing till January 16.
When the PIL was filed last year, the high court had appointed an expert committee to look into the issue. The committee asked the JSW Energy Ltd, the Jindal Group company that is setting up the plant near the port-town of Jaigad, to make a revised environmental impact management report.
The petitioners, however, say that this revised report must be cleared by MPCB and the ministry, but there is no reply from their side yet.
The area around Jaigad has large-scale cultivation of Alphanso mangoes, cashewnuts, coconuts, etc. The PIL claims that the thermal power plant will play havoc with the Rs 3,000-crore economy of the region.
Vivek Bhide, RJJM’s president, alleged that apart from the horticulture, marine life off Jaigad coast too will suffer because of the project. JSW is building a jetty near the old port. Bhide alleges that there are corals in the surrounding sea, which the jetty building operation can destroy.
However, JSW’s lawyer said in the high court that the company did not violate any law, and it had all the required permissions right from the beginning.
Monday,Dec 24,2007
HC awaits govt reply on Jaigad power plant
Press Trust Of India / Mumbai December 24, 2007
The Bombay High Court has reminded the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) and the Centre to file replies on the PIL opposing the OP Jindal group’s coal-based power plant in Jaigad in Ratnagiri district.
The 1,200-Mw power project is facing opposition despite getting clearances from both the MPCB and the environment and forest ministry. Fly-ash generated by the plant will ruin the horticulture in the area, it is feared.
The high court is currently hearing a PIL filed by the Ratnagiri Jilla Jagruk Manch (RJJM). “On the last three occasions, MPCB and the environment and forest ministry were given time to file their replies. They haven’t so far,” said advocate VA Gangal, petitioners’ lawyer.
Recently, when the matter came up before the division bench of Chief Justice Swatanter Kumar and Justice JP Deodhar, nobody from the MPCB’s side was present. Annoyed, the court had to postpone the hearing till January 16.
When the PIL was filed last year, the high court had appointed an expert committee to look into the issue. The committee asked the JSW Energy Ltd, the Jindal Group company that is setting up the plant near the port-town of Jaigad, to make a revised environmental impact management report.
The petitioners, however, say that this revised report must be cleared by MPCB and the ministry, but there is no reply from their side yet.
The area around Jaigad has large-scale cultivation of Alphanso mangoes, cashewnuts, coconuts, etc. The PIL claims that the thermal power plant will play havoc with the Rs 3,000-crore economy of the region.
Vivek Bhide, RJJM’s president, alleged that apart from the horticulture, marine life off Jaigad coast too will suffer because of the project. JSW is building a jetty near the old port. Bhide alleges that there are corals in the surrounding sea, which the jetty building operation can destroy.
However, JSW’s lawyer said in the high court that the company did not violate any law, and it had all the required permissions right from the beginning.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
NTPC inks pact with CSEB for power supply
THE HINDU
(http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/006200712152222.htm)
News Update ServiceSaturday, December 15, 2007 : 2200 Hrs
Business
NTPC inks pact with CSEB for power supply
New Delhi (PTI): Country's largest power producer NTPC Ltd on Saturday said it has entered into an agreement with Chhattisgarh State Electricity Board for supplying power from its upcoming Mauda Super Thermal Power Project.
The agreement was signed here in the presence of NTPC Director (Commercial) R S Sharma and CSEB Chairman Rajib Ranjan, a company statement said.
The 1,000-MW Mauda Super Thermal Power Project is being set up in Nagpur, Maharashtra. Power generated from the station would be supplied to states in the western region.
(http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/006200712152222.htm)
News Update ServiceSaturday, December 15, 2007 : 2200 Hrs
Business
NTPC inks pact with CSEB for power supply
New Delhi (PTI): Country's largest power producer NTPC Ltd on Saturday said it has entered into an agreement with Chhattisgarh State Electricity Board for supplying power from its upcoming Mauda Super Thermal Power Project.
The agreement was signed here in the presence of NTPC Director (Commercial) R S Sharma and CSEB Chairman Rajib Ranjan, a company statement said.
The 1,000-MW Mauda Super Thermal Power Project is being set up in Nagpur, Maharashtra. Power generated from the station would be supplied to states in the western region.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
540 MW thermal power project at Warora, Chandrapur
Date:13/05/2007
URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/05/13/stories/2007051311821300.htm
New thermal power plant for Maharashtra
Special Correspondent
The 540 MW project is expected to generate 3,500 million units per annum
NEW DELHI: KSK Energy Ventures Private Limited on Saturday announced the launch of a 540 MW thermal power project at Warora, in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra, through a Special Purpose Vehicle — Wardha Power Company Private Limited. The project involves a total investment of Rs. 2,400 crore. On completion, it will generate about 3,500 million units per annum.
The company entered into a deal with the Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation, which has been allocated a coal block in Chhattisgarh. The GMDC retains the right to invest up to 26 per cent of the power project's equity. Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation has provided 94 hectares for the project.
© Copyright 2000 - 2007 The Hindu
URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/05/13/stories/2007051311821300.htm
New thermal power plant for Maharashtra
Special Correspondent
The 540 MW project is expected to generate 3,500 million units per annum
NEW DELHI: KSK Energy Ventures Private Limited on Saturday announced the launch of a 540 MW thermal power project at Warora, in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra, through a Special Purpose Vehicle — Wardha Power Company Private Limited. The project involves a total investment of Rs. 2,400 crore. On completion, it will generate about 3,500 million units per annum.
The company entered into a deal with the Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation, which has been allocated a coal block in Chhattisgarh. The GMDC retains the right to invest up to 26 per cent of the power project's equity. Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation has provided 94 hectares for the project.
© Copyright 2000 - 2007 The Hindu
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Coal-rich Vidarbha can make Maharashtra power surplus
By IANS
Thursday May 17, 10:38 AM
Nagpur, May 17 (IANS) The Vidarbha region of Maharashtra is all set to transform the power-starved state into a power-surplus one again in the next five years, thanks to a host of upcoming and proposed projects.
Already accounting for over 60 percent of the power generated in the state, the coal-rich central Indian region of Vidarbha will soon boast of a string of new plants with an installed capacity to generate 13,500 megawatt of electricity, officials said.
The highlight of this ambitious power generation programme is a staggering 8,455 MW unit committed by nine private sector companies, including those of the Adani Group, Ispat's Central India Power Co. and the Hyderabad based KSK Energy Ventures.
Of the remaining part, as much as 3,400 MW will come from four state government-owned thermal power stations in Vidarbha (in Paras, Khaparkheda, Koradi and Chandrapur) and 1,000 each from the proposed units of state-run National Thermal Power Corp's proposed plant in Mouda near Nagpur and the special economic zone in Chandrapur.
The Gujarat-based Adani Group of Industries has recently bought 200 hectares of land in the Tiroda industrial area in eastern Vidarbha's Gondia district for their proposed 2,000 MW thermal power project estimated to cost Rs.80 billion ($1.9 billion).
'The plant erection work is scheduled to start coming September and the first unit should be in place in less than four years', the group general manager H.M. Choudhury told reporters during a recent visit here. The group will soon buy 300 hectares more for the massive project, he added.
The biggest coal importer in the country that supplies coal to several thermal power plants including those at Koradi and Khaparkheda in Vidarbha, the Adani Group foresees no problem as regards the availability of coal for their Tiroda project.
'We are going to get coal for 1,000 MW power unit from Korba in Chhattisgarh with the help of Gujarat Mineral Corp and will also try to get the mineral from the Western Coalfields Ltd. (WCL) mines in Chandrapur district', Choudhury said.
While the equally big (2,000 MW) thermal power project of the Ispat Group's (erstwhile Nippon Denro) Central India Power Co. is coming up in Bhadravati in Chandrapur district, the KSK Energy Ventures has set up its financial arm Wardha Power Co. to construct its 540 MW plant at Warora in Chandrapur district.
The KSK Ventures, which has committed half of the power it will produce to its equity partner Viraj Profiles and the rest to small-scale industrial units in the region, has decided to buy its power plant equipment from China instead of Bharat Heavy Electrical Ltd (BHEL), which is booked for the coming two years.
The other companies that have taken concrete steps to set up their power plants in Vidarbha are Jawaharlal Darda Yavatmal Energy (1,215 MW), Nagpur Power and Infrastructure Ltd (1,000 MW), Vibrant Energy and EMCO (500 MW each), Reliance Energy (200 MW) and Abhijit Infrastructure Ltd. (100 MW)
While all the proposed projects including those in the state sector lie in the realm of future, and would, therefore, have been taken with a big pinch of salt by an incredulous people, a chastened state government's fervent efforts to ease the power crisis have lent credence to their announcement.
A modicum of success that the state's power establishment has recently achieved in providing some relief to the harried power consumers in the shape of reduced load shedding - there is little or no power cut as of now in cities like Nagpur, Aurangabad and Amravati besides Pune - has whetted the popular optimism.
Even while managing to draw power in bits and snatches from all possible external sources including Gujarat, Haryana and the central pool and stepping up generation in its own Dabhol and Parli power plants, the state government has ensured generation of 2,100 MW in Dabhol by the year end, two-third of which will be available by June end itself.
Determined to do all it would take to wipe off the state's power shortage in the shortest possible time, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh last week obtained New Delhi's nod for additional supplies of coal and gas, besides environmental clearances for the state's upcoming and existing power projects ensuring extra 2,600 MW electricity by next April.
'The state will have up to 6,500 MW more in the next two years,' proclaimed a beaming Deshmukh at the foundation laying function of the KSK Energy Ventures at Warora in Chandrapur district last Friday.
Reaching the site of the proposed 540 MW project (about 100 km from Nagpur) straight from Delhi along with Union Energy Minister Sushilkumar Shinde after meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Deshmukh unfolded a virtual calendar of power generation in the state beginning next month.
For the chief minister of the state that suffered a humiliating downslide from its 'unassailable' No.1 position in the country owing to its failure to produce a single megawatt as extra power in the last eight years, that was a moment of glory.
Shinde added to the cheer by announcing that the state would get an additional 800 MW from the upcoming Mundra mega power project in Gujarat and that the Centre has cleared its proposed 1,000-MW NTPC plant in Mouda.
When all this happens, hopefully in five years from now, Vidarbha, the designated powerhouse of Maharashtra, will become a major region for electricity generation.
Thursday May 17, 10:38 AM
Nagpur, May 17 (IANS) The Vidarbha region of Maharashtra is all set to transform the power-starved state into a power-surplus one again in the next five years, thanks to a host of upcoming and proposed projects.
Already accounting for over 60 percent of the power generated in the state, the coal-rich central Indian region of Vidarbha will soon boast of a string of new plants with an installed capacity to generate 13,500 megawatt of electricity, officials said.
The highlight of this ambitious power generation programme is a staggering 8,455 MW unit committed by nine private sector companies, including those of the Adani Group, Ispat's Central India Power Co. and the Hyderabad based KSK Energy Ventures.
Of the remaining part, as much as 3,400 MW will come from four state government-owned thermal power stations in Vidarbha (in Paras, Khaparkheda, Koradi and Chandrapur) and 1,000 each from the proposed units of state-run National Thermal Power Corp's proposed plant in Mouda near Nagpur and the special economic zone in Chandrapur.
The Gujarat-based Adani Group of Industries has recently bought 200 hectares of land in the Tiroda industrial area in eastern Vidarbha's Gondia district for their proposed 2,000 MW thermal power project estimated to cost Rs.80 billion ($1.9 billion).
'The plant erection work is scheduled to start coming September and the first unit should be in place in less than four years', the group general manager H.M. Choudhury told reporters during a recent visit here. The group will soon buy 300 hectares more for the massive project, he added.
The biggest coal importer in the country that supplies coal to several thermal power plants including those at Koradi and Khaparkheda in Vidarbha, the Adani Group foresees no problem as regards the availability of coal for their Tiroda project.
'We are going to get coal for 1,000 MW power unit from Korba in Chhattisgarh with the help of Gujarat Mineral Corp and will also try to get the mineral from the Western Coalfields Ltd. (WCL) mines in Chandrapur district', Choudhury said.
While the equally big (2,000 MW) thermal power project of the Ispat Group's (erstwhile Nippon Denro) Central India Power Co. is coming up in Bhadravati in Chandrapur district, the KSK Energy Ventures has set up its financial arm Wardha Power Co. to construct its 540 MW plant at Warora in Chandrapur district.
The KSK Ventures, which has committed half of the power it will produce to its equity partner Viraj Profiles and the rest to small-scale industrial units in the region, has decided to buy its power plant equipment from China instead of Bharat Heavy Electrical Ltd (BHEL), which is booked for the coming two years.
The other companies that have taken concrete steps to set up their power plants in Vidarbha are Jawaharlal Darda Yavatmal Energy (1,215 MW), Nagpur Power and Infrastructure Ltd (1,000 MW), Vibrant Energy and EMCO (500 MW each), Reliance Energy (200 MW) and Abhijit Infrastructure Ltd. (100 MW)
While all the proposed projects including those in the state sector lie in the realm of future, and would, therefore, have been taken with a big pinch of salt by an incredulous people, a chastened state government's fervent efforts to ease the power crisis have lent credence to their announcement.
A modicum of success that the state's power establishment has recently achieved in providing some relief to the harried power consumers in the shape of reduced load shedding - there is little or no power cut as of now in cities like Nagpur, Aurangabad and Amravati besides Pune - has whetted the popular optimism.
Even while managing to draw power in bits and snatches from all possible external sources including Gujarat, Haryana and the central pool and stepping up generation in its own Dabhol and Parli power plants, the state government has ensured generation of 2,100 MW in Dabhol by the year end, two-third of which will be available by June end itself.
Determined to do all it would take to wipe off the state's power shortage in the shortest possible time, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh last week obtained New Delhi's nod for additional supplies of coal and gas, besides environmental clearances for the state's upcoming and existing power projects ensuring extra 2,600 MW electricity by next April.
'The state will have up to 6,500 MW more in the next two years,' proclaimed a beaming Deshmukh at the foundation laying function of the KSK Energy Ventures at Warora in Chandrapur district last Friday.
Reaching the site of the proposed 540 MW project (about 100 km from Nagpur) straight from Delhi along with Union Energy Minister Sushilkumar Shinde after meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Deshmukh unfolded a virtual calendar of power generation in the state beginning next month.
For the chief minister of the state that suffered a humiliating downslide from its 'unassailable' No.1 position in the country owing to its failure to produce a single megawatt as extra power in the last eight years, that was a moment of glory.
Shinde added to the cheer by announcing that the state would get an additional 800 MW from the upcoming Mundra mega power project in Gujarat and that the Centre has cleared its proposed 1,000-MW NTPC plant in Mouda.
When all this happens, hopefully in five years from now, Vidarbha, the designated powerhouse of Maharashtra, will become a major region for electricity generation.
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