A 120 mega watt (MW) thermal power plant is on the anvil to be established near Chatrapur in Ganjam district.
This power plant would need an investment worth around Rs. 600 crore. It would be established by Dr. Ramakrishna Prasad Power Private Limited (RKPPL) of Hyderabad. Speaking to The Hindu , Ganjam district Collector, Krishan Kumar said the RKPPPL has already obtained clearance from Government of Odisha for this 120 MW coal-based thermal power project. According to company sources it has applied for clearance of the project from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) of Central government and has obtained Terms of Reference (TOR) from the MoEF.
As per the instructions of the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB), a public hearing for environmental impact assessment of the project would be held on January 10 at the proposed site of the project.
According to the authorities this proposed coal-based thermal power plant would be established near Sri Ramchandrapur village of Chattrapur block in Ganjam District. According to a director of the RKPPL, Naveen Venigalla, who was in Ganjam district regarding the project, the land for the project has been earmarked. This thermal power plant would come up on 85.78 acres of land. Out of it 74.2 acres are government land and rest is private land.
As per the authorities this project would need around three years for its construction. The company claims that this thermal power plant would be a non-polluting one. Its pollution level would be too low as it would use modern technology and imported coal. The imported coal it proposed to be used by this power plant would have six per cent ash in comparison to Indian coal which has 40 per cent ash, the company authorities claimed.
It is envisioned that the Gopalpur port which is at its final stages of completion to become an all weather port would provide scope for import of coal for this thermal power plant. This power plant would need around 200 cubic meters of water every day. It has been decided to use ground water for the purpose. When this thermal power plant would start its production, it would evacuate the power generated by it through 132 KV power transmission line of Odisha’s GRIDCO. Around 30 MW of its production would be provided to Odisha government while the rest would be marketed by the company. This project is expected to solve power problem in Ganjam district and other parts of south Odisha.
