It was a good gathering which was eagerly waiting to hear PM Narendra Modi and to see the online inauguration of different developmental projects of Jharkhand. This gathering was more than 100 kms away from the Prabhat Tara ground of Dhurwa, Ranchi, where PM Modi arrived on Thursday, in NTPC’s North Karanpura Thermal Power Station site office, Tandwa, Chatra.
In the site office of NKTPS officials of NTPC, BHEl and residents of Tandwa and adjoining villages were present and as PM Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of this power project online from Dhurwa Ranchi, the entire premises of the site office started echoing with clapping and exchange of good wishes.
On 6th March 1999 former PM AB Vajpayee laid the foundation stone of North Karanpura Super Thermal Power Station of NTPC online from St. Columba’s College ground, Hazaribagh. In 2002 the work of land acquisition started and it was at its end when NDA lost the parliamentary elections in 2004.
From here, the fate of this much needed developmental project in the underdeveloped area of Jharkhand started hanging between the tussle of two central ministries. The coal ministry objected the project on the ground that there is huge quantity of coal inside the proposed area of this project. It was said that the coal is below 4500-6000 feet.
The energy ministry stood with NTPC which had spent a lot of money behind this project and gave a fresh proposal of thermal power station instead of super thermal power station for which less area was needed. When the coal ministry became adamant the matter went before the committee of ministers headed by the Prime Minister.
In 2012, a high level committee of ministers started looking into this dispute and finally in 2013 it gave the clean chit for the construction of North Karanpura Thermal Power Station at Tandwa. The committee led by PM Manmohan Singh rejected the objection of coal ministry on the ground that in India there is yet not any technology to mine out coal from 6000 feet below.
In this entire process, Yashwant Sinha, Ex-MP Hazaribagh, played a vital role, after being re-elected in 2009 parliamentary elections he remained in touch with all the parties involved in the dispute and it was due to his efforts that finally the dream of backward area residents is going to be true. PM Narendra Modi re-inaugurated the project by pressing the button at Prabhat Tara Ground and after his speech, rituals of bhumi pujan started at Tandwa in which officials of NTPC, BHEl and local residents participated. From today the Bharat Heavy Electrical limited has started the erection work of this thermal project and as per the officials by the end of 2018 it will become functional.