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A unique plan on power, pollution fronts

Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar

Money raised through commercial development of land to be diverted to the cleaning of Yamuna

NEW DELHI: A unique combination of power generation, commercial development and pollution control is being forged in Delhi under which money raised through commercial development of land belonging to various power plants is planned to be diverted to the cleaning of the Yamuna and development of the riverfront.

The Delhi Development Authority this past week allotted land to the Delhi Government for setting up a 750 MW combined cycle gas-fired power station at Bamnauli in South West Delhi. The proposal to set up a plant at Bamnauli near Najafgarh is under consideration of the Delhi Government since in view of the new Master Plan for Delhi-2021 large-scale urbanisation is proposed to take place in this region.

MoU signed

What makes the setting up of a power plant at Bamnauli a possibility now is that a memorandum of understanding has been signed with M/s Petronet to finalise the supply and purchase agreement for gas in the next couple of months. Delhi would be requiring gas to fire plants that would generate about 2,000 MW of power.

In lieu of the allotment of land for the Bamnauli plant, the Delhi Development Authority wants the Delhi Government to transfer its surplus land available with the Pragati Power Plant, Indraprastha Power Plant and Rajghat Power Plant so that it can develop this land for commercial use and raise money.

Surplus land

"There are hundreds of acres of surplus land available with these plants. These are prime spaces very close to Lutyens' Delhi and the important hub of ITO. The land would be developed for creating more office space in this region. The demand for such development is very large in this area as besides being in the middle of the city it is also linked through the Delhi Metro now," said a senior official.

Moreover, as per the grand plan that is also under active consideration of the Union Ministry of Urban Development, a portion of the funds raised through commercial development would be diverted towards cleaning of the Yamuna and development of the riverfront.

Incidentally, this aspect has become critical for the Delhi Government also. In its budget document, it has also declared that the objective of making Delhi a global city can only be achieved after the Yamuna has been made completely pollution-free. While the Yamuna River Development Authority has been set up, the Government now needs funds to get its plans into action and it is here that the DDA is hoping that the Delhi Government would see reason in its scheme and the transfer of land would be a smooth affair.

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