| The government has extended the date of financial closure of the state's only private project by another six months. Work had been stalled on June 12, but has now begun again. |
| "Now the company can come up with financial closure by September 30, 2006," said a government spokesperson and added that "The state Cabinet decided this yesterday evening." |
| The 400-Mw Maheshwar power project is being developed on the Narmada river near Maheshwar (Mandaleshwar). Earlier this month, the Union Ministry of Forests and Environment had slapped a notice on State Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan demanding a halt to work. |
| The ministry had reasoned that promoters of the project had not submitted detailed rehabilitation and resettlement plans. Besides, Narmada Bachao Andolan activists had also staged a protest against the dam. |
| The Power Finance Corporation (PFC) is learnt to have taken over the task of completing the project. However, the company has not made any official statement regarding its completion, plan and future. The project is expected to be completed by 2008. |
| PFC executives could not be contacted. |
| Sources in the government and from the company have confirmed that work is on, full swing. |
| "Orders for hydro turbines have been placed to the Bhopal unit of Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited. The funding is also not a problem for the project since the PFC is in the saddle now," said a source. |
| Work on the project had been stalled in 2001, in the absence of funding, despite the fact that the BJP-led state government had offered a guarantee and counter-guarantee with the demand-supply gap hovering around 1,500 Mw to 2,000 Mw. |
| The state has been facing an acute shortage of power for the last ten years. It has added only 1,000 Mw from the Indira Sagar Power project during this period and another 520 Mw from the Omkareshwar power project, which are being constructed on the Narmada. These projects are expected to be completed by 2008-09. |
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