Farakka (West Bengal), Sep 28 (PTI): The Centre today said
it is committed to setting up the Katwa thermal power project in West Bengal.
"NTPC will set up a power plant in Katwa. I
also announce that we will offer 50 per cent of the capacity to the
state," Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said here today.
He was speaking at the inauguration of full-load
commercial operation of NTPC''s 500 MW stage III unit at Farraka.
With the addition of 500 MW, the Farraka thermal
power plant''s total capacity increased to 2,100 MW.
Shinde''s assurance brought new hope to the
power project, which is mired in problems of land acquisition, although he
asked the state government to arrange for land and water.
State power minister Manish Gupta, who was also
present at the event, said that the government would offer full cooperation and
support to Centre’s
power projects in the state.
The West Bengal Power Development Corporation is
supposed to transfer the 1,320 MW thermal power project to the NTPC which has
acquired only 458 acres out of 1,100 acres required for the project.
NTPC Chairman Arup Roy Choudhury also expressed
hope, saying the new land policy favours government support of infrastructure
projects.
"We are also ready to pay the land owners
directly the price the WBPDCL had paid. We need the original land owners'' list
from the government," he said.
Gupta called for permission for setting up hydel
power projects in the northern part of the country and in Bhutan.
Meanwhile, NTPC is targeting to reduce share of
imported coal for Farraka plant to 10 per cent from 20 per cent by increasing
domestic coal supply.
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