Power department fears closure of 1,320MW project

Kolkata: The state power department is apprehensive about the future of the 1,320 megawatt project by power utility National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) as the later has put it on hold for more than 18 months. Also, the NTPC recently transferred a number of key officials to other units, which has added to the doubts of power department officials.

“Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has resolved the land issues for the construction of the new thermal power project. But there has been zero progress in the work. Moreover, in recent times the central public sector enterprise has transferred a number of key officials to other units. The GM of the Katwa unit was also transferred. No equipment for construction of the project has yet been brought,” a top official of the power department said.

Power minister Sobhondeb Chattopadhyay on Monday informed Ms Banerjee in detail about the present situation at NTPC at the meeting of the standing committee at the state secretariat Nabanna. “Our next course of action will be as per the direction of the chief minister,” Mr Chattopadhyay said.

Some senior power department officials want the chief minister or the chief secretary to write directly to union power minister Piyush Goyal or prime minister Narendra Modi, or both to apprise them of the situation. “We do not want any further delay in execution of the project,” the power official said.

NTPC needed at least 294 acres of land or more to set up two thermal power units of 660 MW each at Katwa. The company was initially asked to purchase land on its own. In 2015, Ms Banerjee intervened and provided around 100 acres more to the project, while NTPC acquired the rest on its own.

“The transfers are routine ones. We do it for the better utilisation of resources. The project will move at its own pace,” a spokesperson of NTPC said.

According to NTPC sources, the coal linkage issue is one of the major issues that need to be sorted out. The state government had earlier promised to supply coal from its own power generation units run by the West Bengal Power Development Corp. Ltd. but that requires clearance from the Centre. “In all these years, the state didn’t ever pressurize the Centre to clear the proposal. We need to have everything in order before starting work,” an NTPC official said on conditions of anonymity.