Gridco pays Rs 234 cr for Bedabahal power project

Land acquisition for the 4,000 MW power project, has hit roadblocks due to non-payment of dues by OIPL

State-run power trader Gridco Ltd has deposited Rs 234 crore with the Odisha Integrated Power Limited (OIPL), the nodal agency for land acquisition, for the Bedabahal Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP) as part of its share of power drawal.

Land acquisition for the 4,000 Mw power project, which was supposed to be completed by June 2013, has hit roadblocks due to non-payment of dues by Odisha Integrated Power Ltd (OIPL), a fully owned subsidiary of Power Finance Corporation (PFC). OIPL is responsible for UMPP implementation.

The entire process of acquisition of private land measuring 2,733 acres, runs the risk of getting lapsed due to non-passing of the award within the statutory period.

Though the developer for the project has not been decided through the bidding route yet, OIPL intends to complete the land acquisition process on a priority basis, with payments from nine states that are going to be benefitted from the power project.

Odisha would get 1,300 Mw as its share from this project. The other eight states which are going to draw power from the project are Punjab (500 Mw), Rajasthan (400 Mw), Haryana (400 Mw), Uttar Pradesh (300 Mw), Uttarakhand (200 Mw), Madhya Pradesh (400 Mw), Chhattisgarh (200 Mw) and Tamil Nadu (300 Mw).

“We paid Rs 234 crore towards our share to OIPL. After a developer is selected, it will pay us back the money with an interest rate to be decided by the PFC,” said an official of Gridco.

Meanwhile, notification under Section 6 (1) of the Land Acquisition Act has been issued for the acquisition of private land totalling to 2,733 acres in six villages in Sundergarh district.

The UMPP needs 3,100 acres in all. Water for this UMPP has been allocated from the Ib river and check dams and barrages would be put up on the river for this purpose.

It may be noted that Meenakshi, Meenakshi-B and Dipside Meenakshi coal blocks have been allotted for the UMPP with a total reserve of 880 million tonnes.