NTPC, which holds 32.68 per cent equity in Ratnagiri Gas & Power, has set up a committee to look into the issues faced by the Ratnagiri (formerly Dabhol) project.

The project remains closed since July 15 for want of gas. The committee is chaired by former chief secretary of Maharashtra and the company's independent director Ajit Nimbalkar.

Other members include former Central Bank of India chairman and managing director Homai A Daruwala, former bureaucrat of the Madhya Pradesh cadre Prashant Mehta and RGPPL’s

managing director R K Srivastav.

The committee held its first meeting on Wednesday to discuss the restoration of gas supply and an early repayment of dues by MahaViataran, which procures 95 per cent power from the project.

The early restart of power generation and the subsequent recovery of tariff from MahaVitaran is necessary to avoid the entire project being declared a non-performing asset by the lenders.

The company’s debt is about Rs 9,000 crore (Rs 90 billion).