Nagpur Municipal Corporation's (NMC) proposed 420 MW thermal power plant at Bhandewadi in the eastern part of the city may well be a non-starter given the Union environment and forest minister Jairam Ramesh's forthright views and no-nonsense approach in granting environmental clearance to such controversial projects.
On Tuesday, in an informal chat with city MP Vilas Muttemwar in the Central Hall of Parliament, the minister indicated that he had called for necessary reports from the authorities concerned with the project to have a closer look. "I met the minister today and brought to his notice how the thermal plant within the city could prove to be an environmental disaster and pose serious shortage of drinking to the city as there was possibility of it being diverted for the proposed power plant," Muttemwar told ToI.
"The minister gave a firm assurance to look into the matter and even indicated that no such thermal power plant could be set up within the city limits because of the fly ash and toxic gases it generates," said Muttemwar.
"However, the minister who is busy grappling with the oil spill off the Mumbai coast and other urgent issues said he would give his official response on the NMC power plant soon after receiving relevant reports," said Muttemwar. He added that NMC's plan of setting up a thermal power plant within city limits made no sense given its grave implications.
"As far as I know, the NMC had earlier secured clearance for a plant to generate power from municipal waste. A non-conventional energy plant is a good idea as it uses green, non-polluting technologies. But instead of pursuing a clean-green plan, the NMC wants to use the 300 acre land at its disposal to set up a coal-fired, highly polluting and water guzzling power plant too big and dangerous for the city's needs," he said.
The NMC is planning to set it up on build operate and transfer (BOT) basis and earn a meagre Rs 50 crore in the deal from the private operator who will invest in it. Some major private players have evinced interest in investing Rs 2,100 crore in the plant. But the environmental clearance could now come in the way of the plan taking off. In recent times, Ramesh has dealt with an iron hand in several instances be it the Adani mines issue in Chandrapur threatening the Tadoba tigers or the Posco steel plant in Orissa.
"I have absolutely no doubts that he will not give permission for a thermal power plant in the vicinity of several big schools and educational institutions that have come up near Bhandewadi," Muttemwar said. The NMC can easily make more money by realising the real estate value of the land without endangering lives of its citizens, the MP said.
On Tuesday, in an informal chat with city MP Vilas Muttemwar in the Central Hall of Parliament, the minister indicated that he had called for necessary reports from the authorities concerned with the project to have a closer look. "I met the minister today and brought to his notice how the thermal plant within the city could prove to be an environmental disaster and pose serious shortage of drinking to the city as there was possibility of it being diverted for the proposed power plant," Muttemwar told ToI.
"The minister gave a firm assurance to look into the matter and even indicated that no such thermal power plant could be set up within the city limits because of the fly ash and toxic gases it generates," said Muttemwar.
"However, the minister who is busy grappling with the oil spill off the Mumbai coast and other urgent issues said he would give his official response on the NMC power plant soon after receiving relevant reports," said Muttemwar. He added that NMC's plan of setting up a thermal power plant within city limits made no sense given its grave implications.
"As far as I know, the NMC had earlier secured clearance for a plant to generate power from municipal waste. A non-conventional energy plant is a good idea as it uses green, non-polluting technologies. But instead of pursuing a clean-green plan, the NMC wants to use the 300 acre land at its disposal to set up a coal-fired, highly polluting and water guzzling power plant too big and dangerous for the city's needs," he said.
The NMC is planning to set it up on build operate and transfer (BOT) basis and earn a meagre Rs 50 crore in the deal from the private operator who will invest in it. Some major private players have evinced interest in investing Rs 2,100 crore in the plant. But the environmental clearance could now come in the way of the plan taking off. In recent times, Ramesh has dealt with an iron hand in several instances be it the Adani mines issue in Chandrapur threatening the Tadoba tigers or the Posco steel plant in Orissa.
"I have absolutely no doubts that he will not give permission for a thermal power plant in the vicinity of several big schools and educational institutions that have come up near Bhandewadi," Muttemwar said. The NMC can easily make more money by realising the real estate value of the land without endangering lives of its citizens, the MP said.
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