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Pradip Kumar Maitra
NAGPUR, SEPT 10: The western region of the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) here is embarking on a massive expansion plan to increase its generation capacity from 4,913 MW to around 7,000 MW by the end of Ninth Five Year Plan.
The NTPC's major addition to power generation in the region would be the setting up of Sipat Super Thermal Power Station near Bilaspur in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh which is in its final stage of clearances.
Talking to The Indian Express, H L Bajaj, the Executive Director of NTPC, western region, informed that the proposed Sipat Power Project would begin in two stages -- the first 2000 MW one would go on stream early during the 10th Plan followed by the second 1000 MW phase.
According to him, around 560 acres of land out of the allotted 4,800 acres awaits clearance by the Union Forest and Environment Ministry as those lands are declared Zudpi jungle. Bajaj informs that the NTPC has agreed for compensatory afforestation of 1,100 acre of land in lieu of thatZudpi jungle.
A major achievement of western region is that its expansion plans of Vindyachal Super Station in Madhya Pradesh is moving almost a year ahead of schedule. The 500 MW unit is expected to be completed in the current financial year while another 500 MW will be added in the next financial year in its phase two expansion programme.
The corporation is also planning the second stage of Kawas and Gandhar Power Plants in Gujarat in the region, adding 650 MW each during the Ninth Five Year Plan.
The work tenders for the second phase of Kawas Power Project have already been floated. Immediately after the second phase, the NTPC plans to start the third stage of both the plants adding 650 MW each. The technical and economical clearances from Central Electricity Authority (CEA) have already been received by the public sector undertaking in this regard last month.
However, the public sector power giant is not able to get through its expansion plans for its oldest power plant in the region atKorba, also near Bilaspur because the region is declared as one of 14 hot zones in the country by the Union Forests and Environment Ministry.
Bajaj, however, is still hopeful about Korba's 500 MW expansion being allowed. The NTPC has taken up massive tree plantation in the area with 11-lakh of its trees surviving there. Other measures have also been taken to control pollution and temperature in and around the plant.
A satellite survey has shown that the NTPC afforestation in the region had resulted in reducing maximum temperature by 3 degree centigrade. The Korba Thermal Power Project started in 1982, is also in for a major renovation and modernisation at a cost of Rs 281-crore, and has also bagged an ISO 9002 certificate recently -- the first time in the country for a super thermal power station.
Answering a question, Bajaj said that the NTPC western region would emphasize on multi-training facilities for its employees in different projects for reducing its man-power. The training institutes at Korbaand Kawas of the organisation are international repute and people from aboard come for training, he claimed.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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This story was printed from Net Express located at http://www.expressindia.com. Net Express provides a portal to India, with news from The Indian Express and The Financial Express along with sites on travel and tourism, the entertainment industry, the power sector, the environment and much more.
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