 "Janjgir-Champa")
The contractor was one among many who aspired to become a power producer but had to bite the dust. While lack of environmental clearances is an issue, there are many other reasons. India Inc lists lack of integrated planning and coordination between the state and central government as one; rampant corruption is also high on the list.
In a written reply in the Chhattisgarh assembly in August 2010, the state government said 29 MoUs were signed for setting up power plants to produce 27,708 Mw in Janjgir-Champa. It justified this by arguing the district was completely free from a Naxalite problem and well connected by road and rail to coal-rich Odisha and Jharkhand.
However, say analysts, the government ignored the availability of water, something required in massive quantities for thermal power plants. Chhattisgarh was to construct five additional barrages on the Mahanadi river. The capacity of these was 245 million cubic metres, sufficient to irrigate 450,000 acres. Further, these barrages would convert a 50-km stretch of river bed into a reservoir. This river bed is presently used by about 5,000 farmers for cultivation after the monsoon, when the flow declines. While these thermal plants would risk the livelihood of 5,000 farmers, the projects were approved by the state without an environment impact assessment report. Not surprisingly, these projects have been delayed due to local agitation and land acquisition hurdles, apart from lack of water.
“If the government had properly planned these projects and addressed the concerns of farmers and water resources, these mega power projects would not have been delayed,” says an analyst with Ambit Capital.
When asked, water resources minister Brijmohan Agrawal would not comment on queries related to bad planning in the district and lack of water resources for the new power stations.
Construction work has begun on the barrages but the pace on all projects here has slowed. “A disastrous plan…had the government ensured water for the farmers, Janjgir-Champa could have created a record in agricultural production,” says Laxmi Chouhan, a social activist in Raipur.
Most of the companies also did not show interest in proceeding as the economy slowed and power costs shot up substantially. And, the government took no serious initiative to expedite the proposals.
Now, only six power companies are working on the projects. Officials say the district would certainly produce about 10,000 Mw in the future. However, of the 29 original proposals, 12 are awaiting a nod from the Union ministry of environment and forests; eight took no initiative to act. Three companies have received the environment clearance but are yet to sign an MoU with the state government to give the proposal a final shape.
Many companies expected the central government to allot coal blocks for feeding the proposed plants but the coalgate scam has further dented progress on this. Companies are even returning the water allotted to their projects. “There is sufficient water (already) available for industry,” said the director of a company which had decided to wind up its 1,320-Mw power project proposal in the district.
“Most of the proposals were signed between 2006 and 2008, when the economy was booming,” explained a senior official of a company, asking not to be named. By 2010, the economy registered a downward trend, forcing most investors to reconsider.
