Karnataka - Bangalore   

Centre opposes relocation of Tadari power project

BANGALORE: The Union Government has strongly opposed the relocation of the 4,000-MW ultra mega thermal power project from Tadari village, near Karwar town, in Uttara Kannada district.

The State Government has proposed to shift the project from Tadari to Kudigi, near Alamatti, in Bijapur district.

“Tadari is the number one location for the ultra mega power project,” Union Minister of State for Power and Commerce Jairam Ramesh told presspersons here on Thursday. The Union Government’s coal policy allows ultra mega power project to be established either near a port or near coal mines, he said.

Minister for Energy K.S. Eshwarappa said the Government was keen to set up the power project at Kudigi. As much as 4,000 acres of land was available in Bijapur district. Plenty of water was also available at Kudigi since the Alamatti dam was located nearby.

Speaking after a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, Mr. Ramesh said the Union Government’s policy did not permit the establishment of an ultra mega power project near Alamatti. “We still impress upon the Chief Minister and the State Government to set up the project at Tadari,” he said.

Environmentalists are threatening to scuttle the project at Tadari fearing that “it will endanger the estuary of the Aghanashini river”.

Mr. Ramesh said, however, the Centre would despatch a technical team to Kudigi to assess whether the location was suitable or not. Kudigi is 350 km from Goa, the nearest port. The power plant requires thousands of tonnes of coal a day, which would have to be brought by ship.

The Union Ministry of Power, the Power Finance Corporation of India and the Central Electrical Authority would execute the ultra mega power project if all hurdles were cleared. “Karnataka could even consider establishing two ultra mega projects along its 300-km-long coast,” Mr. Ramesh said.

The country’s first ultra mega power project was established in Gujarat, the second at Sasan in Madhya Pradesh, the third at Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, the fourth in Jharkhand, the fifth in Tamil Nadu and the sixth in Orissa.

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