The Cabinet Committee on Investment has cleared Reliance Power’s 4000 MW ultra mega power project at Tilaiya in Jharkand, advising Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) to take necessary steps to treat it at par with Central Government undertaking project for the purpose of rules for compensatory afforestation.
Under the clearance given by CCI headed by Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, Reliance Power may not have to provide non-forest land to compensate for the loss of forest land acquired for the proposed plant. The plant will now be on a par with the other public sector projects and therefore would be exempted from providing compensatory afforestation for the loss of forest land. At present, only central government or public sector undertakings have exemption from the obligation to provide non-forest land.
THE CCI asked MoEF to issue necessary clarification immediately to the Forest Department of Jharkhand that Tilaiya UMPP and related mines for use of 19.44 metric tonne per annum as indicated in the project information report may be treated at par with Central Government projects so that balance land for the power plant could be transferred immediately to the developer.
The Cabinet note states that the developer, in addition to cost of compensatory afforestation on double the diverted forest land, be also asked to deposit the cost of land required for the above compensatory aofforestation.
Tilaiya UMPP is to be executed by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), Jharkhand Integrated Power Ltd, which was handed over to Reliance Power in January 2009 by Power Finance Corporation — the nodal agency for UMPPs. Tilaiya would be the fourth UMPP to be awarded to a developer after Sasan (Madhya Pradesh), Krishnapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) and Mundra UMPP in Gujarat.
