With the Centre spiking the proposal from Karnataka to move the 4,000 Mw ultra mega power project (UMPP) out of Tadri in Uttara Kannada district, a desperate state government on Wednesday knocked on the doors of the Planning Commission to prevail upon the Union power ministry to agree to the relocation.
"There has been strong opposition from environmentalists and the locals to the Tadri project sanctioned by the Centre. Against this backdrop, we proposed to relocate the project," chief minister B S Yeddyurappa reasoned at the CM's meeting with the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission in New Delhi. Yeddyurappa said his government has identified alternative locations for the UMPP at two places in Bijapur district; Kudgi and Mannur.
Yeddyurappa's plea comes against the backdrop of the recent disapproval by Union minister of state for power Jairam Ramesh who maintained: "The Centre's policy mandates the location of thermal plant either near a port or the coal mines. However, the Karnataka government's move to shift the project from Tadri to Bijapur district is against the Centre's policy. As a result, it cannot be allowed."
Incidentally, this is the second major infrastructure project the Yeddyurappa government proposes to cancel in the state's coastal belt. Earlier, the government had disapproved the Rs 30,000 crore petroleum, chemicals and petrochemicals investment region (PCPIR) project sanctioned for Dakshina Kannada and the neighbouring Udupi district. Political compulsions are said to have coerced Yeddyurappa to axe these mega projects as they run the risk of provoking sentiments in the region, which is largely a BJP bastion.
"The power project could not be started because of local resistance, so we request the Centre to facilitate relocation," Yeddyurappa added.
Apart from this, the CM also requested the Centre to assist the state and Chhattisgarh governments by providing coal linkage to the development of a 2,000 Mw thermal power project in Chattisgarh.
