Within a week after Anil Ambani-led Reliance Power limited decided to call it a day from 4,000 MW Ultra mega power project (UMPP) at Tilaiya the State Government has approached for reconciliation. Acting on the directions from Chief Minister Raghubar Das, Principal Secretary of Energy Department SKG Rahathe has on Monday appealed to the company to rethink over the decision for pulling out from the project coming up under Jharkhand Integrated Power limited.
The Government on its part has termed the UMPP important for the State and country. “Jharkhand would be benefited the most from the power plant. The State Government in its four month tenure so far as acted fast on the proposals to divert forest land for the coal block allocated. Recommendation for stage-I environmental clearance has already been sent to the Center. This shows the sincerity of the State Government in the way of setting up the power plant in Jharkhand,” said a government press communiqué.
The private power major had citing major hurdles in making available land for building the power plant and various other clearances relating to forest and water pulled out from Rs 36,000-crore project it had won through auction in 2009. Scheduled completion of the UMPP was 2015 but the company citing the delays predicted at least 10 years of delay which feared to turn its operation economically unviable.
Nevertheless, the State Government had a day after the decision presented its part of the story and rejected all the claims the company had made for pulling out. It has claimed that speedy progresses were made in granting necessary clearances to the company since the new Government has come and had even alleged that pressure to review the power purchase agreement as real reason behind. As per the PPA, the State would be getting power at the rate of Rs 1.77 per unit.
When asked on this issue, Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal put the onus of the State Government. “The Center has nothing to do with the agreement singed for UMPP between RPower and it. If there is any violation of the contract the State Government can take appropriate action,” said the Minister and sought speedy availability of land for another UMPP coming up at Deoghar to kick it off.