The government has asked the officers of Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) and Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. (PGCIL) to find out whether the proposed Koodankulam-Madakkathara power line could be avoided by increasing the capacity of the existing 220 KV line.
A meeting chaired by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Friday asked the officers to examine whether it could be done by transmitting power over more than one circuit. They have been asked to submit their report within ten days.
The move is following opposition to the drawing of a new line as it is feared to destroy crops and rubber trees in some parts of Kottayam and Pathanamthitta districts.
As five km of the proposed Mysore-Areecode power line would pass along the forest areas of Karnataka, the meeting decided to seek that State's permission for drawing the line. Mr. Chandy would write to Karnataka Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda in this regard.
The meeting was attended by Union Minister of State for Power K.C. Venugopal, Electricity Minister Aryadan Mohammed, MLAs Mons Joseph, Raju Abraham, KSEB Chairman T.N. Manoharan, and N. Jayaraj, PGCIL Chairman and Managing Director R.N. Nayak.
