UDUPI: Manorama Madhwaraj, MP, said the Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy's statement that the proposed 1,015 MW coal-based Nagarjuna Thermal Power Project at Yellur in Udupi district would not have any adverse affects was not true.

In a press release issued here on Monday, Ms. Madhwaraj said that Mr. Kumaraswamy should not impose projects such as the Nagarjuna Thermal Power Project on the people of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts. If the Chief Minister was bent on launching the project, he should shift it to Hassan.

Various reports such as those prepared by the Danish International Development Agency, National Environmental Engineering Research Institute had made it clear that a coal-based thermal power project was not suited to the coastal belt of Karnataka.

The State Government had asked the agency to conduct a study on Dakshina Kannada district because it believed that the ecology of the region was fragile and such development projects should be undertaken with utmost care.

Hotspot

The Western Ghats was one of 18 biodiversity hotspots in the world. Nearly 80 per cent water requirement of the Southern Peninsula was met by the Western Ghats.

The State of Environment Report 2003, prepared jointly by the State Government and the World Bank, too did not favour such industries in the region.

Power theft

The Government had failed to address issues such as power theft and transmission losses. It was not subsidising the rates of compact fluorescent lamps, which would save 30 per cent energy.

The State Government had failed to implement hydel power projects of 2,900 MW. It had not encouraged alternative sources of power such as solar, wind, or tidal power.

Mr. Kumaraswamy should think of the consequences of such projects on the future generations, Ms. Madhwaraj said.

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