Patiala October 1:
After the Supreme Court lessened its share of electricity in the Bhakra Beas Management Board, Punjab has received yet another shock on the power front. Now, the National Thermal Power Corporation and the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited have locked horns over the setting up of the Gidderbaha thermal plant.
The much-publicised Rs 15,000 crore project assumes significance in view of the fact that Gidderbaha is the stronghold of People's Party of Punjab chief Manpreet Badal and the Shiromani Akali Dal would be looking forward to wrest the seat in the coming assembly elections. The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) had recently put forward the proposals pertaining to the setting up of the 2,640-MW project. However, the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) turned them down as the proposals "violated" the terms and conditions as mentioned in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that was signed earlier. The disagreement, it is learnt, was over certain issues, including land acquisition and capacity of power generating units.
Officials claim that the PSPCL had conveyed it to the NTPC that their proposal regarding the implementation of the two units of the 660-MW capacity each, against the earlier envisaged capacity of four units of 660-MW each, was a deviation from the terms and condition of the MoU. Besides, the officials objected to the demand by the NTPC for bringing down the quantum of the land to be acquired from the original requisition of 1,999.12 acres to 1,000 acres. This, claimed PSPCL officials, would hinder the land acquisition process.
Confidential departmental documents reveal NTPC chairman Arup Roy Choudhury had sent the proposals through a letter, dated August 5, 2011, to Punjab Chief Secretary SC Agarwal. At a recent meeting of the PSPCL Board of Directors (BOD), the letter was discussed threadbare. “The BOD unanimously decided that the NTPC will have to follow all the terms and conditions as mentioned in the MoU as well as the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA),” reads the extracts of the minutes of the BOD meeting.
After the Supreme Court lessened its share of electricity in the Bhakra Beas Management Board, Punjab has received yet another shock on the power front. Now, the National Thermal Power Corporation and the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited have locked horns over the setting up of the Gidderbaha thermal plant.
The much-publicised Rs 15,000 crore project assumes significance in view of the fact that Gidderbaha is the stronghold of People's Party of Punjab chief Manpreet Badal and the Shiromani Akali Dal would be looking forward to wrest the seat in the coming assembly elections. The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) had recently put forward the proposals pertaining to the setting up of the 2,640-MW project. However, the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) turned them down as the proposals "violated" the terms and conditions as mentioned in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that was signed earlier. The disagreement, it is learnt, was over certain issues, including land acquisition and capacity of power generating units.
Officials claim that the PSPCL had conveyed it to the NTPC that their proposal regarding the implementation of the two units of the 660-MW capacity each, against the earlier envisaged capacity of four units of 660-MW each, was a deviation from the terms and condition of the MoU. Besides, the officials objected to the demand by the NTPC for bringing down the quantum of the land to be acquired from the original requisition of 1,999.12 acres to 1,000 acres. This, claimed PSPCL officials, would hinder the land acquisition process.
Confidential departmental documents reveal NTPC chairman Arup Roy Choudhury had sent the proposals through a letter, dated August 5, 2011, to Punjab Chief Secretary SC Agarwal. At a recent meeting of the PSPCL Board of Directors (BOD), the letter was discussed threadbare. “The BOD unanimously decided that the NTPC will have to follow all the terms and conditions as mentioned in the MoU as well as the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA),” reads the extracts of the minutes of the BOD meeting.
