A vast expanse of paddy fields in West Kallada panchayat which turned into a 350-acre waterbody because of illegal sand and clay mining is being put to productive use with a 50-MW solar power plant scheduled to come up there within a year.
The project, initiated by Kodikunnil Suresh, MP, and the West Kallada grama panchayat, will be executed by the public sector National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC) by investing Rs.600 crore. The location has been handed over to the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) on lease.
Mr. Suresh told the media on Wednesday that the power generated at the plant would be sold to the KSEB and a power purchase agreement between the KSEB and the NHPC would be signed soon. The NHPC had entered into a memorandum of understanding with the State government in 2014 for developing solar power.
Panchayat president Thridib Kumar said the waterbody, which had been lying idle, was owned by 150 people in the area. At the initiative of the panchayat, the owners joined hands to float a company, West Kallada Nonconventional Energy Promoters Private Limited, and leased the location to the KSEB. In return, the owners would be given lease rent. Mr. Suresh claimed that, when commissioned, it would be the largest floating solar power plant in the world.
He said the firm steps initiated by the West Kallada panchayat had ended illegal sand-mining in the area. He said illegal mining had inflicted serious environment damage in the locality and the nearby Sasthamcotta Lake was the biggest casualty.
Environmentalists had claimed that the conversion of the paddy field into a waterbody had led to an alarming drop in water level in the lake.
