Jaya's emissaries to meet PM to seek more power

A delegation of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MPs will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday to seek more supply of electricity for Tamil Nadu from the central pool.

During the meeting the MPs will hand over a memorandum to Dr Singh on pending clearances to power projects in the state and also a letter from AIADMK chief and Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in this regard.

Tamil Nadu faces a shortfall of about 4000 MW; during peak season the state needs 13500 MW of power but manages only 9500 MW. 

The Tamil Nadu government has been periodically allocating several thousand crores to the debt-ridden state electricity board and is also focusing on fast tracking power projects in order to make up for the 4,000 MW shortfall. But with the demand constantly increasing, it's a long way to go before the power situation eases in the state

The AIADMK MPs will also meet Union Environment and Forest Minister Jayanti Natarajan to seek clearance for the 2x600 Megawatt North Chennai Thermal Power Project Stage-II at an estimated cost of Rs 5,813 crore.

The Government of Tamil Nadu decided to take up this project under the State Sector through the erstwhile Tamil Nadu Electricity Board presently known as Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited within the validity period.

Accordingly, in October 2006, based on the site inspection report, the Ministry of Environment and Forests conveyed its decision to transfer the environmental clearance earlier granted to Videocon Power to the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board.

Meanwhile, the proposed capacity of the project has been enhanced to 2x600 Megawatts based on the guidelines of the Union Ministry of Power. The Expert Appraisal Committee of the Ministry of Environment and Forests also recommended the proposal to the Ministry of Environment and Forests in May 2011 for issue of Environmental Clearance for the enhanced capacity.

"If the Ministry of Environment and Forests was not satisfied then with the validity of the Environmental Clearance, the proposal would not have been referred to the Expert Appraisal Committee by the Ministry of Environment and Forests and the recommendations of the Expert Appraisal Committee would not have been posted in the website of the Ministry of Environment and Forests," Jayalalithaa wrote in a ltter to Dr Singh a couple of days ago.

Now, after six years of follow up, the Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests has asked TANGEDCO to apply afresh for Environmental Clearance for the North Chennai Thermal Power Project Stage-II.

With Agency Inputs