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Mangalore
By Our Staff Correspondent
MANGALORE, JULY 21. Dakshina Kannada Parisarasakta Okkoota has said that mega industries should be set up in the district and Udupi only after holding a study on the carrying capacity of the region. The organisation, which has opposed the setting up of coal-based power projects in the two districts, has urged the State Government to come out with a White Paper on the changes in consumption of power seasonally in the State. At a press conference here on Wednesday, convened following press reports about the "permission granted'' to Nagarjuna Power Corporation Ltd. (NPCL) to set up a coal-based power project at Yellur-Santhur in Udupi district, Mohammed Guthegar, secretary of the organisation, said the Government and Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd. (KPTCL) had given differing statistics and confusing claims on the power scenario in the State. He said there was no power shortage in the State, if the corporation was to be believed. Following heavy rainfall and increase in hydroelectric power generation, KPTCL was not utilising power from independent producers. Noting that the transmission and distribution losses had cut revenue by Rs. 2,732 crores, he said if the Government went by the recommendations of the Deepak Parekh Committee and reduced the losses from the present 30 per cent (7,153 million units) of the total generation to 10 per cent, 600 MW of power could be saved. Referring to NPCLs claim that clearances had been obtained, he said it was mandatory since March 1997 to conduct a public hearing before the Ministry concerned granted permission for setting up any mega industry. NPCL had not conducted any such hearing, and even if permission was obtained prior to March 1997, it was valid only for five years. Moreover, any such permission granted based on an environmental impact assessment study carried out 10 years ago was not applicable following rapid changes in social, environmental and industrial sectors. Hence the study should be conducted afresh. He said scientific reports prepared by agencies such as DANIDA [Danish International Development Agency], NEERI [National Environmental Engineering Institute] and so on during the past two decades had stated that thermal power projects were not suited for a biodiversity-rich region such as Dakshina Kannada. Recalling the order given by the then State Government in 1996 that no industries should be set up in Dakshina Kannada without a carrying-capacity study, he said the Chief Minister, N. Dharam Singh, during his recent visit to Subramanya, had upheld this view. The Government should take immediate steps to carry out the study. He said the Udupi Taluk Panchayat as well as elected representatives from Udupi were opposed to the setting up of a thermal plant at Nandikur.
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